Badminton Women's Doubles, Both Groups Eliminated Early in Quarterfinals [Paris Olympics]

World No. 2 Lee Sohee-Baek Hana and No. 10 Kim Soyoung-Gong Heeyong
Fail to Enter Medal Contention for the First Time in 12 Years

Korean women's badminton doubles failed to pass the quarterfinals stage at the Paris Olympics.

The pairs of Kim So-young (32, Incheon International Airport) - Gong Hee-yong (27, Jeonbuk Bank) and Lee So-hee (Incheon International Airport) - Baek Ha-na (MG Saemaeul Geumgo) were both defeated in the women's doubles quarterfinals of the 2024 Paris Olympic badminton event held on the 1st (local time) at Porte de la Chapelle Stadium in Paris, France.

[Image source=AP Yonhap News]

World No. 10 Kim So-young and Gong Hee-yong lost 0-2 (12-21, 13-21) to the world No. 12 pair Pearly Tan and Tina Muraliyathran (Malaysia) on the day. Kim So-young and Gong Hee-yong were defeated by a nearly double score margin in the first game and failed to create a turning point in the second game, ultimately conceding defeat. The pair, who have played together since 2019, achieved a bronze medal at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, a gold medal at last year's All England Open, and a bronze medal at the Hangzhou Asian Games.

In the following match, world No. 2 Lee So-hee (Incheon International Airport) and Baek Ha-na (MG Saemaeul Geumgo) lost 0-2 (9-21, 13-21) to world No. 3 Liu Shengshu and Tan Ning (China). Although Lee So-hee and Baek Ha-na held a 4-1 head-to-head record against their opponents, they suffered an unexpected defeat. The pair, formed since October 2022, won a silver medal at last year's Hangzhou Asian Games and a gold medal at this year's All England Open.

This marks the first time since the 2012 London Games that Korean badminton has failed to reach the podium in women's doubles at the Olympics. Previously, the women's doubles team won consecutive bronze medals at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Games and the 2020 Tokyo Games. These medals were the only medals for Korean badminton in those two Olympics.

As a result, the badminton team will now aim for medals in women's singles, men's doubles, and mixed doubles. In mixed doubles, the semifinal match between Seo Seung-jae (Samsung Life) - Chae Yoo-jung (Incheon International Airport) and Kim Won-ho (Samsung Life) - Jung Na-eun (Hwasun County Office) guarantees at least a silver medal.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.