Gamesmanship and Olympic ethics

It cannot be beyond Olympic regulators to create a system in badminton where there is always an incentive to win ( Sport's leaders apologise after shuttling out contestants who tried to lose , 2 August). Such systems prevail in international tournaments in football, rugby, etc, where winners of groups play runners-up in other groups. I am absolutely with Yu Yang, now disqualified, when she says: "My dreams have been destroyed by your imperfect system." Ken Cordingley Williton, Somerset • The banned badminton players have been shamefully treated. They were trying to win in the most logical way. Presented with a possible path to a medal which avoids the most difficult opponents, why would you not take it? The real villains are the administrators who lack the wit to see the flaws in their system. Mike Scott Bath • Deliberately losing a match to get a more favourable draw in a later round has been practised by sports people over the years. It was an important part of the plot of the BBC's recent drama, Bert and Dickie ( G2 , 25 July), set at the 1948 London Olympics. The two British scullers, Bushnell and Burnell, contrived not to win their first race so that they'd go into the repechage and thus avoid meeting the Danish crew in the semi-finals. In the drama, this action was suggested to his partner by the Old Etonian Burnell, who is very keen that his father, an Olympic gold medal rower from 1908, does not find out as he would doubtless condemn this as ungentlemanly. Charles Foster Dublin