LONDON, Aug 2: China's Olympic badminton players backed their under-fire head coach Li Yongbo and slammed the expulsion of two of their team-mates as the match-throwing scandal continued to overshadow the tournament on Thursday.

“I think it's extremely unfair. Firstly, it's a problem with the format, that's what I believe,” Xu Chen, who will partner Ma Jin in Friday's mixed doubles final against another Chinese pair, said.

“I also thinks it's extremely regrettable because an athlete's highest goal is to be an Olympian. Even if they weren't allowed to compete for the gold medal, they should still be allowed to compete. It's such a shame.”

World champions Yu Yang and Wang Xiaoli were among the casualties for China.

The top-seeded pair and the other six athletes were being removed from the athletes' village, an IOC spokesperson said earlier on Thursday.

Yu also promptly announced her retirement from the sport in a post on her microblog, slamming the federation for shattering her and her doubles partner's ‘dream’.—Reuters