JAKARTA  - South Korea admitted it threw its Thomas Cup match against England on Monday, plunging the elite tournament into controversy and overshadowing China's continued march towards the title. The Koreans, who have emerged as a powerful force in men's badminton, lost 4-1 after fielding a weakened team, with Asian champion Park Sung-Hwan and Korean Open winner Lee Hyun-Il playing doubles together instead of singles. Team manager Kim Jong-Soo said their tactics were to avoid winning their group to ensure a more favourable quarter-final draw. "We formulated a strategy before we arrived where we want to meet Denmark in the quarter-finals, and that means not finishing top of the group," he said. "The Badminton World Federation (BWF) created these rules, but I'd much prefer having the two top automatically qualify for the quarter-finals." The Thomas and Uber Cup tournaments are structured so that the top finisher in each three-team group receive a bye to the quarter-finals, while the other two play an elimination game to make the last eight. If Korea finished top of their group they faced the prospect of meeting defending champions China in the semi-finals. As it is, they finished third after losing 4-1 to eventual group winners Malaysia Monday evening. It means they play minnows Canada in the elimination game. If they win that they are in the quarters and would avoid China until the final. Netherlands head coach Martijn van Dooremalen said the system was to blame. "I don't think it is in the spirit of the game but the way the system is, you can use tactics to come second or third and avoid the bigger name teams," he said. "It's a shame the championships have to be played like this." Indonesian team manager Christian Hadinata said he didn't blame South Korea. "The BWF must the review the system. As it is, it allows teams to adopt this sort of strategy. I don't blame South Korea." The BWF were expected to issue a statement but nothing was forthcoming. The controversy overshadowed China racing to a 5-0 win over Canada to follow up their whitewash of Nigeria on the opening day. The victories ensure they receive a bye to the quarter-finals where they play Thailand or New Zealand. World number one Lin Dan was again in fine touch as he cantered past Andrew Dabeka 21-11, 21-15, while Bao Chunlai eased to a 21-14, 21-8 victory over Bobby Milroy. Olympic and Asiad champion Taufik Hidayat bounced back from his shock opening day defeat to beat Dieter Domke 21-10, 21-16 as Indonesia hammered Germany 5-0 to book their place in the last eight against England or Nigeria. "Losing is normal in a tournament like this. I was not lucky yesterday," said an unflustered Hidayat, the 2005 world champion. "Today I was much better." China's women were also firing in the parallel Uber Cup. World number one Xie Xingfang, Zhu Lin, and Jiang Yanjiao all easily won their singles matches to help the defending champions reach the knockout round. There they play the Netherlands or New Zealand. Indonesia beat the Netherlands to secure a quarter-final berth Monday evening while South Korea beat Hong Kong for a place in the last eight. Denmark is the other automatic qualifier.