China’s Fu Haifeng and Zhang Nan have clinched gold in the men’s doubles final after an nail-bitting bout against their Malaysian counterparts, Tan Wee Kiong-Goh V Shem.
With Chong Wei setting a perfect tone for the evening by beating Lin Dan in the semi-finals earlier today, the baton was passed to V Shem and Wee Kiong – and they did not disappoint in the first set.
While China had a blistering start to the first set, the Malaysian duo clawed their way back into the game, before eventually sealing the set 21-16.
But Fu Haifeng and Zhang Nan bounced back impeccably in the second set, pushing hard to rally back and secure a scintillating 21-11 win to leave the tie widely opened.
That predictably made the final set nerve-wrecking – something that was visibly on the players as well, as they began making a myriad of service errors. The score was tied closely all the way to the end, where V Shem and Wee Kiong found themselves on the verge of making history with the score being 21-20.
That said, Fu Haifeng and Zhang Nan maintained their composure to eventually come back and secure a 23-21 win to clinch the gold medal.
More to come…
Other posts by FO Newsdesk
