China overcome Japan to claim gold
Michael Regan /
Getty Images
China ended the controversial Olympics women's
doubles competition with gold as their second-best pair Tian Qing and
Zhao Yunlei held their nerve in the final.
The second seeds made a
powerful start against Japan's Mizuki Fujii and Reika Kakiiwa but
needed four match points to complete a 21-10 25-23 victory at Wembley
Arena.The event had been completely overshadowed this week by the expulsion of China's world number ones Wang Xiaoli and Yu Yang and three other pairs in a match-fixing scandal.
Wang and Yu tried to lose their final group match in an attempt to avoid being in the same half of the knockout draw as Tian and Zhao.
It will never be known if Tian and Zhao could have won gold if faced by Wang and Yu but the nerves did appear to get to them as they scented victory against the fourth seeds.
Whereas they seemed a class apart in the first game, errors crept in in the second and the Japanese grew in confidence.
The umpire appeared unimpressed with some possible delaying tactics by the Chinese, who fell 12-9 and 15-12 behind, but they rediscovered their composure to set up what proved a thrilling climax.
The Japanese did earn a game point themselves in an exhausting 36-minute second game but it was Tian and Zhao who came out on top.
The gold medal was China's second of the day after Li Xuerui's success in the women's singles and kept the country on course for all five at the tournament.
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