"The actions of Yu Yang and Wang Xiaoli on the court have violated Olympic principles and the spirit of fair athletic competition. The Chinese Sports Delegation feels saddened," it said.

The delegation is investigating the Chinese players' conduct, it said, "and will make appropriate rulings based on the result."

The head coach of the Chinese badminton team, Li Yongbo, expressed contrition for what had happened.

"As the head coach, I owe the fans and the Chinese an apology," he said, according to the state-run news agency Xinhua. "Chinese players failed to demonstrate their fighting spirit of the national team. It's me to blame."

The debacle has prompted wide debate on social media, with opinion divided on whether the players were exercising tactical nous within a poorly designed system or were guilty of failing the Olympic spirit and bringing the game into disrepute.

Sebastian Coe, the chairman of the London Olympic organizing committee, was clear where he stood on the controversy, describing the spectacle as "depressing " and "unacceptable."

"I mean, who wants to sit through something like that?" he asked.

He predicted that the badminton federation would take the apparent match-throwing "really seriously."

The game of badminton dates back centuries but has been an Olympic sport only since 1992. Competition has been dominated by China, Indonesia, South Korea and Denmark, according to the federation.

Although not widely played in the United States, badminton -- viewed as one of the fastest racket sports -- is popular in many European and Asian nations.

OfficialBadminton.com says it is played by 200 million people worldwide and is the national sport of Indonesia and Singapore.