Highs & Lows at Rio

Rio did not disappoint with a number of upsets.

Only two topseeds survived, in WS when Spain's Carolina Marin defeated V. Sindhu and Japan's WD, Misaki MATSUTOMO and Ayaka TAKAHASHI who beat Denmark's Christinna PEDERSEN and Kamilla RYTTER JUHL, 18-21 21-9 21-19 in the final.

The other events were hotly contested and of special mention must be MAS unseeded MD Goh and Tan who destroyed Korean topseed Lee and Yoo, although they were unlucky to miss the gold medal against China's FU Haifeng [4] and ZHANG Nan, who won in a thrilling final, 16-21 21-11 23-21 in 1 hr 10 min.

India's V. Sindhu shocked many higher-ranked WS seeds, particularly China's Wang Yihan, to take the silver medal in the end after losing to Spain's WR1 Carolina Marin in three games. Her better known compatriot, Saina Nehwal #5, unfortunately did not shine and lost to an unknown from Ukraine, Maria ULITINA 21-18 21-19 in 40 min. So Sindhu did better than Saina's bronze medal.

Of course the most sought-after outcome was in MS, when LCW denied LD his third Olympic gold medal although he himself succumbed to a younger CL in the end. His third silver medal for MAS and a great disappointment for LD fans when LD even lost to Denmark's Viktor Axelsen in the bronze medal playoff.

In WD, Denmark's unseeded Christinna PEDERSEN and Kamilla RYTTER JUHL delighted us right through the final and were deservingly rewarded with the silver medal after they lost narrowly to Japan's No.1 pair.

The greatest disappointment in WS must be Taiwan's TTY and Thailand's Ratchanok, who showed promising form before Rio but were eliminated from the early rounds.

MS
Srikanth KIDAMBI [9] [IND] beat [DEN] Jan O JORGENSEN [5] 21-19 21-19
Rajiv OUSEPH [13] [GBR] beat [INA] Tommy SUGIARTO [7] 21-13 14-21 21-16
LEE Chong Wei [1] [MAS] beat [CHN] LIN Dan [3] 15-21 21-11 22-20
Viktor AXELSEN [4] [DEN] beat [CHN] LIN Dan [3] 15-21 21-10 21-17

 

WS
PUSARLA V. Sindhu [9] [IND] beat [TPE] TAI Tzu Ying [8] 21-13 21-15
Akane YAMAGUCHI [10] [JPN] beat [THA] Ratchanok INTANON [4] 21-19 21-16
Carolina MARIN [1] [ESP] beat [CHN] LI Xuerui [3] 21-14 21-16
PUSARLA V. Sindhu [9] [IND] beat[JPN] Nozomi OKUHARA [6] 21-19 21-10
PUSARLA V. Sindhu [9] [IND] beat[CHN] WANG Yihan [2] 22-20 21-19
Carolina MARIN [1] [ESP] beat [IND] PUSARLA V. Sindhu [9] 19-21 21-12 21-15

MD
V Shem GOH [MAS] Wee Kiong TAN [MAS] beat [KOR] LEE Yong Dae [1]
[KOR] YOO Yeon Seong 17-21 21-18 21-19
FU Haifeng [4] [CHN] ZHANG Nan [CHN] beat[KOR] KIM Gi Jung [3] [KOR] KIM Sa Rang
11-21 21-18 24-22
Marcus ELLIS [GBR] Chris LANGRIDGE [GBR] beat[CHN] CHAI Biao [CHN] HONG Wei
21-18 19-21 21-10

 

WD
Christinna PEDERSEN [DEN] Kamilla RYTTER JUHL [DEN] beat [CHN] TANG Yuanting [2]
[CHN] YU Yang (F) 21-16 14-21 21-19
JUNG Kyung Eun [4] [KOR] SHIN Seung Chan [KOR] beat [CHN] TANG Yuanting [2]
[CHN] YU Yang (F) 21-8 21-17

XD
Tontowi AHMAD [3] [INA] Liliyana NATSIR [INA] beat [CHN] ZHANG Nan [1]
[CHN] ZHAO Yunlei 21-16 21-15
Peng Soon CHAN [MAS] Liu Ying GOH beat [CHN] XU Chen [CHN] MA Jin 21-12 21-19

 

In the end, China still tops with 2 gold medals, although this is a great contrast to its clean sweep in London. Spain, Japan and Indonesia made up the rest of the winners while India, Denmark and Malaysia also surprise with their silver podium finish.

It is generally agreed that South Korea is the greatest loser in MD, their strongest department.

Another disappointment was that LCW was unable to overcome CL to capture the elusive gold medal after a mentally- and physically-draining, but successful encounter against his perennial foe, LD in the semis.

MS
CHEN Long [2] [CHN] [MAS] LEE Chong Wei [1] 21-18 21-18
WS
Carolina MARIN [1] [ESP] [IND] PUSARLA V. Sindhu [9] 19-21 21-12 21-15

MD
FU Haifeng [4] [CHN] ZHANG Nan [MAS] V Shem GOH [MAS] Wee Kiong TAN 16-21 21-11 23-21
WD
Misaki MATSUTOMO [1] [JPN] Ayaka TAKAHASHI [DEN] Christinna PEDERSEN [DEN] Kamilla RYTTER JUHL18-21 21-9 21-19
XD
Tontowi AHMAD [3] [INA] Liliyana NATSIR [MAS] Peng Soon CHAN [MAS] Liu Ying GOH 21-14 21-12