World No. 2 Shuttlers Lee So-hee and Baek Ha-na Defeat Japan to Reach Finals

Badminton women's doubles world No. 2 Lee So-hee and Baek Ha-na (both of Incheon International Airport), silver medalists at the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games, have secured their spot in the Asian Games finals for the second consecutive tournament.

Lee So-hee and Baek Ha-na defeated Japan's world No. 7 pair Kie Nakanishi and Rin Uesaka 2-0 in the women's doubles semifinals of the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games held this morning at the Ichinomiya City Gymnasium in Aichi Prefecture, Japan.

As a result, Lee So-hee and Baek Ha-na, silver medalists at the 2022 Hangzhou Games, will step onto the Asian Games final stage for two consecutive tournaments.

The Japanese pair they faced today is the same duo that dashed the South Korean national team's hopes of reaching the finals in the women's team semifinals just five days ago.

At the time, they stepped up as the doubles runners in Japan's fourth match, defeating the pair of Kim Hye-jeong and Jeong Na-eun and handing South Korea a painful 1-3 defeat.

Having bowed their heads after suffering consecutive losses in the team event quarterfinals and semifinals despite being considered a "sure-win card" for the South Korean national team, Lee So-hee and Baek Ha-na took control of the court easily from the start, seemingly determined to make a statement today.

The Korean pair engaged in a tight see-saw battle within a 1-to-2-point margin early on, but at 7-7, they combined unforced errors from Japan with Lee So-hee's sharp, high-tasting smashes to score 5 consecutive points and begin pulling away.

Taking the first game with an 8-point lead through relaxed game management, the Korean pair continued their momentum into the second game.

After widening the gap with 3 consecutive points from 5-4, they neutralized Japan's attack, which had managed to close the gap to 7-8, with flawless defense, and swept 8 consecutive points to break their opponent's will to chase.

Their opponents in the final are China's world No. 1 pair Liu Shengshu and Tan Ning.

The Korean pair has struggled against this Chinese duo, suffering 5 consecutive losses, but they previously defeated Liu Shengshu and Tan Ning at the World Championships—their most important stage recently—to achieve South Korea's first women's doubles title in 31 years.

If Lee So-hee and Baek Ha-na overcome China and climb to the top of the podium, South Korean badminton will capture its first Asian Games women's doubles gold medal in 24 years, following the pair of Ra Kyung-min and Lee Kyung-won at the 2002 Busan Games.

(Photo: Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.