Hi, I know there is already a thread on the IOC cutting sports (http://www.badmintoncentral.com/for...-IOC-is-in-meeting-some-sports-may-be-dropped) but that thread did not discuss how badminton survived being cut from the Olympics, despite the biggest scandal in Badminton's history. I'm guessing there are several reasons why badminton has survived the IOC cut: 1) It does bring in a lot of viewers, especially from Asia. They estimated that 20% of the world's population tuned in to watch the LD vs LCW finals: http://www.london2012.com/news/articles/round-badminton-tournament-serves-treat.html I don't really trust the 20% estimate very much, but for sure, a lot of viewers from China and Malaysia tuned in. 2) The Asian clout at the IOC is probably pushing for badminton to stay. 3) I'm guessing Badminton has some support from European countries. Denmark is probably the strongest supporter of badminton. Next is probably Great Britain (especially after Nathan Robertson/Gail Emms got silver) and Germany. 4) Badminton probably brings in a little revenue now, but maybe the IOC recognizes badminton will bring in more revenue in the future, especially with China's economy developing. My guess is, if badminton can survive another 10 years at the Olympics, it will become a large enough revenue generator at the Olympics, it won't be considered for removal anymore. The reason is China (and other growing Asian economies) will dump more money into badminton and there will come a point where the IOC will become too addicted to the revenue generated from badminton to cut it. What do you guys and gals think? Will badminton be reconsidered for the 2024 Olympics in four years time or is badminton's status at the Olympics safe for the next 20 years?
There's no ground whatsoever to drop a sport from the Olympics just because some players deliberately lose their matches. I don't see a connection between these two at all. In football, you give a red card if a player does a nasty challenge. You can even ban the player or the whole team if there's a fight. But there's nothing wrong with football itself. Same here for badminton. For practical reasons, I think you've listed plenty of them above. Badminton is growing to be a bigger business. I don't see why they would drop it in the near future.
Badminton would not be dropped (like wrestling) because it is an individual sport that allows the full display of the athlete's skills easily visible to the spectator. Much like diving, gymnastics, etc. Also very amenable to slow mo instant replay because of that. Now who would want to watch 2 sweaty guys grappling and groping each other on a mat? In slow mo replay? (Apologies to those wrestling fans.) And of course due to China too.
