By Cho Mu-hyun
Korea failed to win a single gold medal in the Korea Open badminton championship in Seoul, Sunday.
In the finals at the SK Handball Stadium in Oryun-dong, Seoul, Korea lost in three finals — men’s doubles, women’s doubles and mixed doubles — to Chinese pairs, proving that the Great Wall was not to be scaled so easily.
Lee Yong-dae and Ha Jung-eun stood together in the final of the mixed-doubles against Xu Chen and Ma Jin, but suffered a 2-1 lost.
Lee and Ha lost 12-21 in the first set, but won the second set 21-19, thanks to Lee’s smashes near the end. However, China practically ran the game in the final set, leading by 10 points throughout and eventually winning 21-10.
The result is bleak prospect for Korea, with the Olympic only seven months away and badminton powerhouse China, its main rival, winning gold.
In the women’s doubles, Ha Jung-eun and Kim Min-jung lost to Tian Qing and Zhao Yunlei 2-0 — 18-21 and 13-21.
“I will discuss with the coaching staff to find a solution to control the game when (we’re) ahead,” said Lee after the men’s doubles. “I definitely want to win in the Olympic Games.”
Earlier Lee and Jung Jae-sung, currently No. 2 in the Badminton World Federation (BWF) rankings, narrowly failed to defend their men’s doubles’ title against Cai Yun and Fu Haifeng of China.
Jung, who played with an injured shoulder, believed lack of experience was the main cause of the loss, but expected better teamwork after he is fully recovered.
The duo won the first set 21-18 but the Chinese came from behind to win the second and third sets to clinch the match, denying the Koreans a third consecutive win in the tournament.
Lee and Jung now have a 10-10 record against their No.1 ranking rivals Cai and Fu.
The Koreans were in danger of ceding the first set when they allowed 4 consecutive points at 10-8, but Jung’s sharp smashes saw them retake the lead at 18-15.
The lead was extended when Cai ceded a point with a misdirected serve before Jung’s diving return set up match point. They lost the next two points but finally won the first set when Fu’s backhand hit the net.
The second set was another seesaw affair but at 17-19 Fu’s backhands found their mark and the Koreans ceded 4 points to see the Chinese level the match.
The local pair returned with a vengeance in the deciding set to lead 9-3 but a barrage from their opponents evened the score at 10-10. Cai’s quick maneuvering gained a further 4 points before Lee’s smashes again tied things up at 19-19. But Fu’s own powerful smashes proved too much to withstand and the Koreans fell to a 21-19 loss.