Taiwan’s Lee Jhe-huei and Yang Po-hsuan on Saturday won the men’s doubles bronze medal at the Badminton Asia Championships in Ningbo, China, after they were bested by the hosts in their semi-final.
The Taiwanese shuttlers lost to China’s Liang Wei Keng and Wang Chang, who advanced to yesterday’s final against Malaysia’s Goh Sze Fei and Nur Izzudin.
The Chinese pair outplayed Lee and Yang in straight games.
Photo: CNA
Although the Taiwanese got off to a slow start in the first game, they eventually tied it 14-14, before Liang and Wang went on to blow past them to win 21-17.
In the second game, Lee and Yang again trailed, at one point falling behind 6-13.
A change in strategy gave the duo enough edge to again tie the game 14-14, but Liang and Wang nonetheless went on to close out the match, again winning 21-17.
The Saturday semi-final was the two pairs’ fourth encounter since 2022. The Taiwanese duo have only beaten Liang and Wang once, at last month’s French Open, where Lee and Yang defeated them 21-17, 21-23, 21-15 in the second round on their way to finishing second in that tournament.
The Badminton Asia Championships is the last tournament for shuttlers to earn points to qualify for the upcoming Olympic Games in Paris.
Although it has been confirmed that Lee and Yang did not qualify, the year has thus far been kind to the world No. 14 duo.
They won the men’s doubles title at the German Open last month, followed by their silver medal run at the French Open.
Lee and Yang’s medal on Saturday also gave Taiwan its second consecutive bronze at the Badminton Asia Championships after Taiwan’s Olympic gold medalists Lee Yang and Wang Chi-lin took home the same accolade in last year’s edition in Dubai.
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