Category Archives: Uncategorized

Canadians back in the game after reigning champions disqualified

Badminton row press conference

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Canadian coach Ram Nayyar he receives a phone call today informing him the team could be reinstated.

“I didn’t tell the girls, I just made sure to keep them some place where I knew where they were,” he told reporters. “At 1 p.m., I asked them to meet me as the possibility of play had increased. I said ‘how would you like to play tonight?’ And at 4 p.m., I was telling them to pack their bags.”

Alex Bruce and Michele Li received a second life in the Badminton doubles tournament when four pairs were officially disqualified. Two of the offending teams had been in their group so the Canadians were suddenly in the quarter-finals.

“We had been waiting in the hotel, trying to relax, but the call didn’t come till 3:30 for a match at 5 p.m.,” Bruce told reporters. “We were surprised, but ready to go.”

And ready they were.  They beat team Australia, Leanne Choo and Renuga Veeran in three sets (21-9, 18-21, 21-18) to advance to the semifinals against Japan on Thursday.

Controversy swirled around team China, South Korea and Indonesia when players made a series unusually poor plays on the final day of round-robin action Tuesday. Paying customers booed several players off the court after repeatedly putting serves into the net and hitting the shuttlecock over the court’s lines. The longest rally in one set lasted just four shots.  

The referee even issued a warning that they may be disqualified.  But the bad plays continued.

Lord Coe, head of London 2012, described the players’ actions as ‘depressing and unacceptable’.

The Badminton World Federation ruling was based on the obvious.  The teams were trying to lose to manipulate their position in the knockout phase.

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China’s Wang Xiaoli and Yu Yang, the reigning world doubles champions, were found to have been purposely trying to lose their match against South Korea’s Jung Kyun-eun and Kim Ha-na to avoid playing another Chinese team before the championship final.

Officially, the players were found in breech of the international badminton federation’s code of conduct section that punishes players for “not using one’s best efforts to win a match.

“The Chinese started this,” South Korean coach Sung Han-kook said, according to the BBC. “They did it first.”

South Korea was denied in an appeal. Indonesia withdrew its own appeal. South Korea’s Ha Jung Eun and Kim Min Jung were also expelled, as was the Indonesian pair of Greysia Polii and Meiliana Jauhari.

“Something had to be done,” Charoen Wattanasin, president of the Badminton Federation of Thailand, told the news service. “I feel sorry for what happened but believe the disciplinary committee made the right decision.”

 

“The Chinese started this,” South Korean coach Sung Han-kook said, according to the BBC. “They did it first.”

The Year of the Dragon may lead to baby boom

You may have heard by now, today is Chinese New Year.  What you many not know, is that this is the Year of the Water Dragon, which only comes around every 60 years. The Dragon has always been a mythical symbol of tremendous power and strength.  But for the Chinese, the Dragon symbolizes much more.Continue reading “The Year of the Dragon may lead to baby boom”

Features that give Google+ a one up on Facebook

For those die-hard Facebookers who see no need to join yet another social media site–here are just a few highlights that might change your mind. First things is how easily your profile can be managed.  Gone are the days you are trying to censor your social life by creating multiple profile pages.  With the “Circle”Continue reading “Features that give Google+ a one up on Facebook”

developing nations spend more time on social networks

“We’ve seen that in mature markets where people have been online for years and where access is ubiquitous, the internet has already become a commoditised item that consumers take for granted.” says TNS chief development officer Matthew Froggatt. A recent survey conducted by the British market research firm TNS has concluded that less digitally developedContinue reading “developing nations spend more time on social networks”

When it comes to ROI, do you want fans, or followers?

Since companies and organizations began embracing social media, the debate has been on.  Who is more valuable: Facebook fans, or Twitter followers? While it’s hard to put a hard qualifying number on either, a recent study by Forrester Research finds that Twitter followers have the potential of being more valuable in the future.  The studyContinue reading “When it comes to ROI, do you want fans, or followers?”

Homeland security uses Facebook to debunk “green card marriages”

The U.S. government is embracing Facebook and may be looking to be your friend. The Department of Homeland Security is turning to the popular social media site to determine whether applicants for citizenship are guilty of entering into “green card marriages.” U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services documents reveal how immigration agents are instructed on howContinue reading “Homeland security uses Facebook to debunk “green card marriages””

keeping an eye on Sitetalk

Myspace, Facebook, Twitter–the huge community these social media sites offer make it evident that we are in embracing social media. According to Microsoft we have passed a significant watershed: now for the first time people are spending more time online than they spend watching television. Now, there is a new social media site to watchContinue reading “keeping an eye on Sitetalk”

Living right for you blood type

We’ve heard of them all–Aitken’s, lemonade, Hollywood–diets that offer a way to battle the bulge.  But the latest up-and-coming diet offers a long-term answer to one of life’s biggest mysteries:  Why did the diet work for that person, but not for me?! Well, the answer may be running through our veins–our blood type. According toContinue reading “Living right for you blood type”