Lee So-hee and Baek Ha-na, the world's second-ranked women's doubles pair in badminton, turned a silver-medal disappointment from four years ago into gold. It is the first time in 24 years that South Korea has returned to the top of the podium in Asian Games women's doubles.
The pair, both members of the Incheon International Airport Corporation badminton team, defeated world No. 1 Liu Sheng-shu and Tan Ning of China 2-1 (26-28, 21-18, 21-18) in the women's doubles final at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games, held on the 29th at the Ichinomiya Municipal Gymnasium in Aichi Prefecture, Japan.
It is the first Asian Games gold for South Korea in women's doubles since Ra Kyung-min and Lee Kyung-won won at the 2002 Busan Games. The two players, runners-up at the 2023 Hangzhou Games, reached the final for a second straight time and finally fulfilled a long-held goal.
Their opponents had been a persistent obstacle, beating them in all five meetings this year. But defeating the same pair at the world championships just before the Asian Games — South Korea's first women's doubles world title in 31 years — proved a decisive source of confidence.
The match was tight throughout. In the first game, neither pair scored more than three consecutive points, making it a knife-edge exchange of single points. After repeated deuces, the South Koreans narrowly lost the opener 26-28 and regrouped from the second game.
The second game also stayed within one or two points early on. South Korea pulled ahead 16-13 before allowing a 16-16 tie, then capitalized on a string of Chinese errors to retake the lead at 19-17. Lee conceded a point late on a fault call for serving above the permitted height, but the pair held steady to take the game and level the match.
The deciding third game was a roller coaster. South Korea drew successive errors from their opponents to score four points in a row, seizing the initiative at 5-2 and leading 10-6. But as they lifted the shuttle high in defense and their attacking tempo slowed, they fell behind 10-11, and China stretched the lead to 15-12.
Baek opened the path back. With deft play at the net and powerful smashes, she unsettled the Chinese defense to tie the score at 16-16, then ended a long rally by placing the shuttle precisely into the gap between the two opponents to go ahead 17-16. A South Korean in-out challenge was rejected, restoring parity at 17-17, but the pair immediately drew a defensive error from Liu to move in front.
During that sequence, Liu grabbed her left foot and sat down on the court, unable to get up for some time. Play resumed after medical staff checked on her, but Liu limped or received from a seated position, leaving Tan to handle the defense almost alone. Lee and Baek exploited the gaps left by their hobbled opponents, taking three straight points from 18-18 to close out the match.
After the match, Baek, the younger of the two, carried Lee on her back as they savored the victory.
