Published : Aug. 5, 2012 - 19:50
South Korea`s Lee Yong-dae and Chung Jae-sung clebrate winning against Malaysia`s Koo Kien Keat and Tan Boon Heong at the London 2012 Olympic Games at the Wembley Arena August 5, 2012. (Yonhap News)
LONDON, Aug. 5 (Yonhap) -- The South Korean men's badminton doubles team of Chung Jae-sung and Lee Yong-dae took the bronze medal at the London Olympics on Sunday.
At Wembley Arena, the South Koreans defeated Koo Kien Keat and Tan Boon Heong of Malaysia in straight sets, 23-21 and 21-10.
After coming from behind to take the first game, the South Koreans charged out to a 11-3 lead in the second game, with the Malaysians committing errors and Lee sending smashes to all corners. Koo and Tan made it 16-9 by winning four straight points, but would add only one more point the rest of the day as Lee finished the contest with a hard winner down the middle.
This was the second Olympic medal for Lee, who'd won the mixed doubles gold in Beijing four years ago, and the first medal for Chung.
Chung and Lee, the world's No. 1-ranked tandem, came into London as the gold medal favorites, but they fell to their Danish rivals Mathias Boe and Carsten Mogensen in the semifinals Saturday.
In the first game, Lee and Chung erased a 19-13 deficit and saved two game points to win 23-21. The deflated Malaysians failed to mount much of a challenge in the second game, as Lee dominated throughout.
Earlier Sunday, South Korean Lee Hyun-il finished fourth in men's singles after losing to Chen Long of China in the bronze medal contest in three sets, 12-21, 21-15, 15-21.
After conceding the opening game, Lee came alive in the second game with an array of delicate drop shots that set up hard smashes.
But the South Korean veteran committed a series of unforced errors and never led in the decisive third game.
This was Lee's second consecutive fourth place finish at Olympics.
South Korea closed out the badminton tournament with one bronze medal, its worst Olympic performance ever.
The team also found itself at the center of the match-throwing scandal in women's doubles. Four South Korean players were among the eight disqualified from the Olympics for their attempts to lose matches on purpose to set up favorable draws in the knockout stage.