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Kang Min-hyuk (right) and Seo Seung-jae of South Korea play against Kim Astrup and Anders Skaarup Rasmussen of Denmark in the quarterfinals of the men's doubles badminton event at the Paris Olympics at La Chapelle Arena in Paris on Thursday. (Reuters-Yonhap) |
PARIS -- Three South Korean doubles teams were knocked out of medal contention at the Paris Olympics on Thursday with losses in the quarterfinals.
In the men's doubles quarters, Kang Min-hyuk and Seo Seung-jae, the 2023 world champions, lost to Kim Astrup and Anders Skaarup Rasmussen of Denmark 2-0 (21-19, 22-20) at La Chapelle Arena in Paris.
Kang and Seo had defeated the same Dane team for their world title last year, but couldn't get past them this time after a back-and-forth battle.
The South Koreans conceded the first game 21-19 despite some late push.
The teams traded points late in the second game before South Korea moved to game point at 20-18.
But then Denmark scored four points in succession to finish off Kang and Seo, a combination of Astrup's winner and missed shots by the South Koreans.
South Korea last won a men's doubles medal in 2012, when Chung Jae-sung and Lee Yong-dae teamed up for bronze.
Seo is scheduled to play in the mixed doubles semifinals with Chae Yu-jung later Thursday. They will be up against another South Korean duo of Kim Won-ho and Jeong Na-eun, and the showdown has assured South Korea at least silver in the mixed doubles.
It will be the only doubles medal for South Korea in Paris, after both of its women's doubles teams also suffered losses in the quarterfinals on Thursday.
Baek Hana and Lee So-hee, world No. 2, lost to the third-ranked team from China, Liu Shengshu and Tan Ning, by 2-0 (21-9, 21-13).
Earlier in the day, Kim So-yeong and Kong Hee-yong, the 2021 Olympic bronze medalists, lost to 12th-ranked Pearly Tan and Thinaah Muralitharan of Malaysia 2-0 (21-12, 21-13).
These losses meant South Korea will not compete for a medal in the women's doubles, after winning bronze at each of the past two competitions.
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Baek Hana (left) and Lee So-hee of South Korea play against Liu Shengshu and Tan Ning of China in the quarterfinals of the women's doubles badminton event at the Paris Olympics at La Chapelle Arena in Paris on Thursday. (Reuters-Yonhap) |
Lee finished fourth in Tokyo with another partner, Shin Seung-chan, after losing to Kim and Kong in the bronze medal match. She teamed up with Baek for Paris but didn't even get to the semifinals this time.
Baek and Lee were not able to exert any control against Liu and Tan. In the first game, the Chinese team held a 9-6 lead before reeling off nine straight points to blow things wide open. South Korea managed just three more points the rest of the first game.
Things weren't that much different in the second game. China turned a 10-8 lead into a 15-8 advantage in a hurry, with Lee either sending her returns long or into the net. The South Koreans never led in bowing out 21-13.
The Kim-Kong team and the Baek-Lee team were on the opposite sides of the bracket. They were on a course to meet either in the final or the bronze medal match, but that possibility was erased with the loss by Kim and Kong early Thursday.
Kim and Kong went down 7-0 in the first game against Malaysia before the match was barely five minutes old. They never led in that frame and struggled to establish any rhythm as the Malaysians dictated the match.
The second game played a bit tighter at the onset, and Kim's winner gave South Korea a 7-5 lead. But then the Malaysians won four straight points to grab an 11-8 lead.
Down 13-10, South Korea pushed back to draw even at 13-13. But Kim and Kong didn't win another point the rest of the way, as Malaysia finished off the helpless South Koreans with eight unanswered points. (Yonhap)
