Kim Won-ho and Jeong Na-eun of South Korea reached the final of the mixed doubles badminton event at the Paris Olympics on Thursday after beating their compatriots Seo Seung-jae and Chae Yu-jung in the semifinals.
Kim and Jeong prevailed 2-1 (21-16, 20-22, 23-21) over the 2023 world championship-winning pair in a thrilling showdown at La Chapelle Arena in the French capital.
This was their first victory over Seo and Chae in six meetings.
Both the bronze medal match and the final will be Friday.
Jeong Na-eun (L) and Kim Won-ho of South Korea celebrate their victory over Seo Seung-jae and Chae Yu-jung of South Korea in the semifinals of the mixed doubles badminton event at the Paris Olympics at La Chapelle Arena in Paris on Aug. 1, 2024. (Yonhap)
Kim and Jeong, ranked eighth in the world, will face world No. 1 from China, Zheng Siwei and Huang Yaqiong. Seo and Chae, world No. 2, will meet fifth ranked Yuta Watanabe and Arisa Higashino of Japan.
South Korea’s last Olympic medal in the mixed doubles came i
n 2008, when Lee Yong-dae and Lee Hyo-jung won gold.
With Seo having played in the men’s doubles quarterfinals earlier Thursday, Kim and Jeong came out aggressive in the first game. Down 5-4, Kim and Jeong grabbed four straight points to swing the momentum. Seo and Chae tried to fight back in the later stages but Kim closed out the game at 21-16 with a forehand winner.
The teams went back and forth in the middle game, with Kim targeting Chae with smashes to give his team an 8-6 lead. Seo and Chae responded with four consecutive points, though Kim and Jeong later pulled into a 15-15 tie.
Jeong Na-eun and Kim Won-ho of South Korea (top, L to R) acknowledge Chae Yu-jung and Seo Seung-jae (L to R) after beating their compatriots in the semifinals of the mixed doubles badminton event at the Paris Olympics at La Chapelle Arena in Paris on Aug. 1, 2024. (Yonhap)
Seo and Chae went up 20-18, but their opponents saved two game points to force deuce. Seo then put down the winner to take the game at 22-20 and even th
e match at 1-1.
There was no shortage of drama in the third game.
Seo and Chae opened up a 10-5 lead, only to see Kim and Jeong score the next five points to tie things up. Back and forth they went, and after Jeong’s winner gave her team a 16-13 lead, Kim called a medical timeout and threw up into a plastic bag provided by medical staff.
With Kim clearly laboring, Seo and Chae evened up the score again at 17-17. But then Jeong picked up the slack for her ailing teammate, setting up a match point at 20-18 with a winner.
Seo and Chae wouldn’t go away so easily, and scored three straight points to set up a match point of their own.
Kim dug deep and went back into his attack mode to tie the score at 21-21. Chae hit a return into the net to give Kim and Jeong their third match point, and the 77-minute duel ended when Seo’s shot went wide left.
Source: Yonhap News Agency