China beat Malaysia for Rio badminton men's doubles gold
Two mis-hit serves caused by "nerves" on match point in a pulsating men's badminton doubles final dramatically cost Malaysia a first ever Olympic gold medal on Friday. The Malaysian pair of Goh V Shem and Tan Wee Kiong appeared set to make history for their country by beating Chinese duo Fu Haifeng and Zhang Nan, only to buckle under the pressure. Malaysia were 20-19 up in the third and deciding game with 27-year-old Tan serving for Olympic glory and sporting immortality back home. However, he inexplicably served the shuttlecock short, gifting a point to the Chinese. The Malaysians regrouped and again went ahead. This time it was Goh serving for the match with the score at 21-20, but he fluffed it into the net, granting a relieved China another reprieve. China then won two points on the spin, including the match-winner which was hit long by Tan, breaking the hearts of Malaysians who are long used to badminton disappointments on the biggest stage. "It was nerves. I think we rushed to get the (match-winning) point," a devastated Tan said afterwards. "We wanted to win it and it never worked. We made a mistake. We're very disappointed. We wanted to win a first gold for the country and ourselves but unfortunately we lost," he added. Malaysia won the first game 21-16 before China got back in the match with a convincing 21-11 triumph in the second before the 23-21 score in the third. "In the last few points I made many easy mistakes. I'm very disappointed," said a rueful Goh, 27. It was China's first badminton gold medal of the Rio Games, a woeful return for the shuttling powerhouse which won a clean sweep of five gold medals four years ago in London. It was the second consecutive Olympic gold medal in men's doubles for 32-year-old Fu. He claimed silver at Beijing 2008 as well. "Our Malaysian opponents felt some pressure and we did sense some changes in their mentality," Fu told reporters. "We didn't think too much about losing. I never want to consider that possibility. We just carried on, played well and grabbed the opportunity when it mattered," he added. Zhang, 26, collected his second medal of Rio 2016 after claiming bronze in the mixed doubles. Britain's Marcus Ellis and Chris Langridge won men's doubles bronze on Thursday with a 21-18, 19-21, 21-10 victory of Chai Biao and Hong Wei. It was only Britain's third ever Olympic badminton medal and first since 2004. Lee Chong Wei, who lost the last two Olympic finals, has another shot at that elusive gold medal for Malaysia in Saturday's singles showdown against China's Chen Long.
