Taiwanese Olympian and new partner lose in Korea Open semifinals

Taipei, Aug. 31 (CNA) Taiwanese Olympic badminton doubles champion Wang Chi-lin (王齊麟) and his new partner Chiu Hsiang-chieh (邱相榤) lost to South Korean duo Kang Min-hyuk and Seo Seung-jae in the semifinals of the Korea Open men’s doubles event on Saturday.

The match between the Taiwanese shuttlers and the tournament’s top-seeded duo at the Mokpo Indoor Stadium lasted one hour and eight minutes and ended in a 27-25, 23-25, 11-21 defeat for Wang and Chiu.

Wang, who won gold in badminton with partner Lee Yang (李洋) in Tokyo on August 4 in Paris, started well with his new partner Chiu by taking a 7-1 lead in the first game of Saturday’s match.

However, their South Korean opponents came back and Wang and Chiu conceded five game points before digging deep to win the first game 27-25.

In the second game, Wang and Chiu narrowly managed to overcome a seven-point deficit, but failed to secure victory in two games.

Despite initially being tied (20-20 and then 23-23), Wang and Chiu failed to get the two points needed for victory, leaving Kang and Seo to win the match 25-23, with the score tied (one game).

In the third game, the Taiwanese duo lost their concentration and the Korean duo ran out to a 21-11 victory.

The 2024 Korea Open marked the second time Wang has teamed up with Chiu, after they lost in the round of 16 of the 2024 Japan Open last week.

Reaching the semi-finals is the best thing the new duo has achieved in their relatively young partnership.

Chiu is Wang’s new partner after his two-time Olympic gold medal partner Lee Yang announced his intention to retire after the Badminton Taipei Open next month.