Badminton's "gold medal after 24 years" is here: Lee So-hee and Baek Ha-na defeat China's "world No. 1" pair to claim women's doubles title [On-site from Ichinomiya]

*This content was translated by AI.

The women's doubles pair of Lee So-hee (32) and Baek Ha-na (26), both from Incheon International Airport, who are ranked world No. 2, secured the gold medal in women's doubles at the Asian Games for the first time in 24 years.

The Lee So-hee-Baek Ha-na pair achieved a comeback victory with a score of 2-1 (26-28, 21-18, 21-18) against the world No. 1 pair of Liu Shengshu and Tan Ning (China) in the women's doubles final at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya (Japan) Asian Games, held on the 29th at Ichinomiya City Gymnasium in Aichi Prefecture, Japan, to stand atop the podium.

It has been a full 24 years since the women's doubles team of Korea last reached the top of the Asian Games podium, following the pair of Ra Kyung-min and Lee Kyung-won at the Busan Games in 2002.

Additionally, the Lee So-hee-Baek Ha-na pair, who had settled for a silver medal after losing 0-2 to China's Chen Qingchen and Jia Yifan at the 2022 Hangzhou (China) Games held in 2023, succeeded in taking revenge in their match against the Chinese pair in the final, which they reached for the second consecutive time.

In terms of head-to-head record against the world No. 1 Liu Shengshu-Tan Ning pair, who had once suffered five consecutive losses, the momentum shifted to a two-game winning streak following their victory at the Badminton World Federation (BWF) World Tour Finals at the end of last year.

The gold medal won by the Lee So-hee-Baek Ha-na pair is the first gold medal for Korean badminton at this tournament. An Se-young, the world's strongest in women's singles, will immediately enter the women's singles final to clash with Akane Yamaguchi (Japan).

The Lee So-hee-Baek Ha-na pair engaged in a fierce battle with their opponents from the start. Struggling against the opponents' powerful smashes, they once allowed a lead of 5-8, but fought back to tie at 11-11 by scoring three consecutive points.

In a flow where the Lee So-hee-Baek Ha-na pair chased whenever their opponents pulled away, Korea succeeded in taking the lead 12-11 thanks to Lee So-hee's exquisite defense combined with an opponent error.

The match then turned into a fierce situation where, conversely, the Chinese pair immediately followed whenever the Lee So-hee-Baek Ha-na pair pulled away. Exclamations of surprise could be heard from the stands during the intense rallies.

A close contest marked by repeated lead changes. Korea, trailing 17-18, took three consecutive points to take a 20-18 lead. However, despite Lee So-hee's incredible defense, they ultimately lost two points, allowing the score to tie at 20-20.

The fierce contest continued even in deuce situations. A tight battle for psychological dominance, marked by repeated lead changes, extended to 26-26.

However, they had to swallow their disappointment over a lack of focus at the end. Lee So-hee's return went out of bounds, breaking the balance, and Liu Shengshu's powerful smash secured the game point.

The second game was also intense. Although the Liu Shengshu-Tan Ning pair appeared to control the flow early on, the Lee So-hee-Baek Ha-na pair tenaciously followed, tying at 9-9. After adding a lucky point from Baek Ha-na, they succeeded in their first lead change of the second game and pulled away to 13-11.

Korea briefly ceded the momentum after two errors where shots went out of bounds, but broke the balance again with Baek Ha-na's powerful smash. After a fierce rally, they extended the gap to 16-13 by adding consecutive opponent errors.

The focus of Liu Shengshu and Tan Ning was befitting of world No. 1s. They took three consecutive points to instantly tie the score. However, the Lee So-hee-Baek Ha-na pair also responded with two consecutive points from opponent errors. Subsequently, as the opponents' returns repeatedly failed to clear the net, Korea tied the game score.

The rising momentum of the Lee So-hee-Baek Ha-na pair allowed them to take a 5-2 lead early in the third game, seizing control of the flow. Although China launched a counterattack, they extended the gap again by adding Baek Ha-na's straight attack and Lee So-hee's powerful smash following Lee So-hee's remarkable consecutive defenses.

However, Korea struggled to firmly grasp the winning momentum. From a 10-6 lead, they allowed five consecutive points and entered the final interval. A fierce contest followed as both sides tried to regain control. After the mid-game stage, the Liu Shengshu-Tan Ning pair extended their gap to 15-12.

However, the Lee So-hee-Baek Ha-na pair did not give up. Despite repeatedly complaining of discomfort in her right leg, Lee So-hee displayed focus by diving to defend, and they ultimately succeeded in taking a 17-16 lead. The match turned into a battle of mental strength at the end. After truly intense rallies, the score remained tightly tied at 18-18.

Korea held the upper hand in focus during the closing stages. They broke the balance when an opponent's return failed to clear the net. Subsequently, after a fierce rally, Lee So-hee's powerful smash slammed into the court. Then, as an opponent's attack went out of bounds, the women's doubles badminton Asian Games gold medal, first achieved in 24 years, was confirmed.

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*This content was translated by AI.