Korean badminton women’s doubles signboard Lee So-hee (left) and Baek Hana. Shinhwa = Yonhap News
Badminton women’s doubles Sohee Lee (Incheon International Airport) and Hana Baek (MG Saemaeul Geumgo) gave Korea their first Asian Championship gold medal in 19 years.
Sohee Lee and Hana Baek defeated Zhang Shuxian and Zheng Wei (China) in the women’s doubles final at the 2024 Asian Individual Championships held in Ningbo, China on the 14th. World No. 2 Lee So-hee and Baek Hana defeated her 7th-ranked pair with a set score of 2 to 0 (23-21 21-12).
It has been 19 years since Korea won this tournament in women’s doubles since Lee Kyung-won and Lee Hyo-jung in 2005. In particular, Kyung-won Lee is currently serving as the women’s doubles coach for the national team, so she was there to watch her juniors follow in her footsteps.
Lee So-hee and Baek Hana are showing off their peak condition ahead of the Paris Olympics. Last month, she won the All England Open, the most prestigious event in badminton, followed by the Asian Championships, raising expectations for the Olympics.
In the final on this day, Lee So-hee and Baek Hana seemed to easily dominate the first set, leading 18 to 9. However, due to the Chinese group’s strong counterattack, they were only able to add 1 point while conceding 7 consecutive goals, and then gave up 4 more points and were pushed to set point first.
However, Lee So-hee and Baek Hana did not waver and took the game to a deuce, then scored consecutive points at 21 to 21 to win the first set. The two, who gained momentum, took the second set by 9 points against the Chinese group who had lost their fighting spirit, confirming their victory.
Mixed doubles Seungjae Seo (Samsung Life Insurance) and Yujeong Chae (Incheon International Airport) took second place. Seo Seung-jae and Chae Yu-jeong, ranked 4th in the world, lost 1 to 2 (21-13 15-21 14-21) to China’s 3rd ranked Feng Yanze and Huang Dongping (world ranked 3rd) in the final.
2024-04-15 20:44:17
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