After swallowing the bitterness of a silver medal at the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games, world number two women's doubles badminton pair Lee So-hee and Baek Ha-na (both representing Incheon International Airport) defeated the world's top-ranked Chinese pair with a thrilling gold-winning smash.

Lee and Baek claimed the top of the podium by defeating world number one Liu Shengshu and Tan Ning (China) 2-1 (26-28, 21-18, 21-18) in the women's doubles badminton final of the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games held at the Ichinomiya City Gymnasium in Aichi Prefecture, Japan, on September 29.

With this victory, Lee and Baek achieved the remarkable feat of reviving South Korea's gold medal streak in Asian Games women's doubles badminton for the first time in 24 years, following the pair of Ra Kyung-min and Lee Kyung-won at the 2002 Busan Games.


Having won a silver medal at the previous Hangzhou Games, the pair finally relieved their sorrow of missing gold after stepping onto the final stage for two consecutive tournaments.

Liu and Tan were a formidable opponent against whom Lee and Baek had suffered five consecutive losses this year.

However, having laid the groundwork for a turnaround by defeating them at the World Championships held just before the Asian Games to secure South Korea's first women's doubles title in 31 years, Lee and Baek produced another stellar performance in the final.


Amid a nail-biting battle where China pressed hard with sheer power, the South Korean pair blocked them with solid defense and capitalized on consecutive unforced errors from their opponents to rack up points.

The first game of the match was fiercely contested, with both teams scoring consecutive points only three times in total.

After going through multiple deuces and narrowly dropping the first game 26-28, Lee and Baek regrouped starting from the second game.


Even in the second game, as China took the lead, the South Korean pair chased tenaciously, continuing a nail-biting battle with a 1 to 2-point margin in the early stages.

After tying the score several times with Lee's sharp net play, the South Korean pair turned the game around to 10-9 with a stroke of luck as Baek's final attack trickled over the net, and reached the interval first with Lee's diagonal smash piercing the gap.

Gaining momentum, the South Korean pair pulled ahead to a 3-point lead at 16-13, the largest margin of the day, utilizing Lee's sharp front-court attack.

Though they allowed a 16-16 tie due to a fierce chase by the Chinese pair, South Korea's concentration prevailed.

As the opponent's attacks repeatedly went out of bounds and hit the net, they regained the lead at 19-17.

Although they conceded a point due to a fault ruling that Lee's service contact point was too high, they remained unshaken and captured the second game by capitalizing on consecutive errors from the Chinese pair, leveling the match.

In the fateful third game, they calmly pressured the flustered Chinese pair.

Successfully inducing consecutive opponent errors from the early stages, they scored four points in a row to take a 5-2 lead, firmly seizing the initiative.

Capitalizing on their early momentum, the South Korean pair pulled ahead to 10-6, a 4-point lead, but a slight slowdown in their attack tempo caused by floating the shuttlecock too high led to consecutive points conceded, allowing China to turn the game around to 10-11.

Energized, the Chinese pair widened the gap again to 15-12, but South Korea was equally tenacious.

Baek broke down China's defense with exquisite net play and a sharp smash, eventually bringing the score back to a 16-16 tie.

At a crucial, nail-biting juncture, following a long rally, they accurately pierced the empty space between the two opposing players to successfully retake the lead at 17-16.

The score returned to a 17-17 tie after an in-out challenge (video review) requested by South Korea was unfortunately not accepted, but they immediately regained the lead by forcing a defensive error from Liu.

The intense flow of the match was temporarily interrupted when Liu, having conceded the point, collapsed to the court clutching her left leg and was unable to get up for a while.

The Chinese players resumed the match only after medical staff were dispatched to the court to check on her condition.

Due to the aftermath of the injury, Liu remained slumped on the court to receive or kept limping, leaving Tan to practically shoulder the defensive workload alone.

Capitalizing on the Chinese pair's sharply reduced mobility, Lee and Baek did not miss the opening and scored three consecutive points from an 18-18 tie to seal the victory.


(Photo: Yonhap News)