How did South Korea lose to Japan in the Asian Games women’s badminton team semifinal?

South Korea opened with a win through An Se-young, but Japan won the next three matches to take the semifinal 3-1. The result left South Korea with bronze in its title defense.

Which players decided the South Korea vs Japan women’s badminton team semifinal at the Asian Games?

An Se-young beat Akane Yamaguchi in three games, while Baek Hana and Lee So-hee lost their doubles match to Yuki Fukushima and Mayu Matsumoto. Sim Yu-jin and the pair of Jeong Na-eun and Kim Hye-jeong also lost in straight games.

Why did South Korea and Indonesia both get bronze in the women’s badminton team event?

There was no third-place match in the women’s team event, so both semifinal losers were awarded bronze medals. South Korea joined Indonesia as the two bronze medalists.

S. Korea loses to Japan, settles for bronze in women's badminton team title defense

Listen

Summary

South Korea lost to Japan in the semifinals of the women’s badminton team event at the Asian Games in Ichinomiya, Japan on Wednesday, settling for bronze in its title defense. Japan won 3-1 after dropping the opening singles match. South Korea and Indonesia both received bronze because there was no third-place match.

Key Facts

An Se-young beat Akane Yamaguchi 2-1 in the opening singles match, giving South Korea its only win against Japan.
Baek Hana and Lee So-hee lost the women’s doubles match to Yuki Fukushima and Mayu Matsumoto 2-0.
Sim Yu-jin fell to Tomoka Miyazaki 2-0, and Jeong Na-eun and Kim Hye-jeong lost the final doubles match to Rin Uesaka and Kie Nakanishi 2-0.
The individual badminton competition is scheduled to begin Friday in the men’s and women’s singles and doubles, as well as the mixed doubles.
An Se-young is trying to become the first women’s singles player to win back-to-back Asian Games gold medals.

By Yonhap

Published Sep 23, 2026 3:06 pm KST

South Korean badminton players Baek Ha-na and Lee So-hee attack against Japan during the second doubles match of the women’s team semifinal at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games at Ichinomiya Municipal Gymnasium in Ichinomiya, Wednesday. Yonhap

NAGOYA, Japan — South Korea lost to Japan in the semifinals of the women's badminton team event at the Asian Games on Wednesday, settling for bronze in its gold medal defense.

After losing the opening match, Japan won the next matches in a row to knock off South Korea 3-1 at Ichinomiya City Municipal Gymnasium in Ichinomiya, just northwest of the main host city, Nagoya, Japan.

With no third-place match, South Korea and Indonesia, the other semifinal loser, both received bronze medals.

South Korea's lone match win against Japan came in the opening singles, where world No. 1 An Se-young defeated her longtime rival Akane Yamaguchi 2-1 (21-9, 18-21, 21-11).

However, Baek Hana and Lee So-hee, world No. 2 in the women's doubles, dropped their match against Yuki Fukushima and Mayu Matsumoto 2-0 (21-15, 21-19). Baek and Lee had also lost their match in the quarterfinals against Malaysia.

Sim Yu-jin lost the next singles match to Tomoka Miyazaki by 2-0 (21-15, 21-14), before Jeong Na-eun and Kim Hye-jeong fell to Rin Uesaka and Kie Nakanishi 2-0 (22-20, 21-16) in what ended up being the last doubles match.

The individual competition in badminton will begin Friday in the men's and women's singles and doubles and in the mixed doubles.

An is trying to become the first women's singles player to win back-to-back Asian Games gold medals.

Explore More