China victorious again
China continued their badminton dominance as Tian Qing and Zhao Yunlei won the women's doubles.
Last Updated: 04/08/12 5:57pm
China kept their bid for a clean sweep of badminton gold medals on track as Tian Qing and Zhao Yunlei claimed victory in the women's doubles.
The second seeds made a powerful start against Japan's Mizuki Fujii and Reika Kakiiwa and eventually held their nerve as they needed four match points to complete a 21-10 25-23 win at Wembley Arena.
The tournament had been overshadowed by the expulsion of China's world number ones Wang Xiaoli and Yu Yang and three other pairs in a match-fixing scandal.
But the China's second-ranked pair coming into the tournament ensured that badminton's dominant nation took their their third gold out of three.
Earlier, Russia's Valeria Sorokina and Nina Visolova made the most of their Olympic reprieve as they claimed a bronze medal in the women's badminton doubles.
The pair lost three matches during the tournament but earned a second chance after China's Wang Xiaoli and Yu Yang and South Koreans Jung Kyung-eun and Kim Ha-na were expelled from their qualifying group in the wake of the match-fixing scandal.
Too strong
Sorokina and Vislova were far too strong for the Canadians Alex Bruce and Michele Li, easing to a 21-9 21-10 win in the women's doubles third-place play-off at Wembley Arena.
The world number 18s were detained for just 27 minutes as they beat the pair ranked 27th for the second time in the tournament to earn a place on the podium.
The match proved an anti-climax for the crowd after a thrilling men's doubles semi-final between Denmark's Mathias Boe and Carsten Mogensen and South Korea's Chung Jae-sung and Lee Yong-dae.
After a high-quality exhibition, it was the third-seeded Danes who prevailed after coming from behind to win 17-21 21-18 22-20 against the third seeds in 83 minutes.
They will now have the chance to claim only Europe's second Olympic badminton gold when they take on China's top seeds Cai Yun and Fu Haifeng.
The Chinese pair secured a 21-9 21-19 victory over Malaysia's Koo Kien Keat and Tan Boon Heong.
