A year ago Seo Seung Jae and Chae Yu Jung had enjoyed the finest moment of their careers, winning the World Championships. Additionally, Seo snared a second gold, taking the men’s doubles title with Kang Min Hyuk.
On Friday, the Korean world champions contemplated the bitterness of having to exit the Olympics without a medal, after they were outplayed 21-23 22-20 in the bronze playoff by Yuta Watanabe and Arisa Higashino.
While Seo tried to put up a brave face, Chae teared up as she tried to come to terms with this being her last tournament with her partner.
“Obviously I’m crushed by the result,” said Chae, who took responsibility for the loss as the senior partner. “Our condition wasn’t the best going into this match but I think athletes need to deal with that, so that’s not an excuse. This was the last time I was playing with Seung Jae, so I wanted to make a good result, so it was disappointing for me, and I’m feeling very sad because it’s my last match. I wanted to lead the way because I’m older than him, and I had more experience, but I don’t think I fulfilled my role, and I’m sad about that.”
The surprise for the world champions was the semifinals, when they fell to a pair they’d never lost in five previous matches – younger compatriots Kim Won Ho and Jeong Na Eun. The physical and emotional effort of the 77-minute loss took its toll on the bronze medal playoff, as the world champions found their footing too infrequently.
“It’s hard to say we weren’t affected by the last game, because it was a hard match but we went all-in – so in terms of that, we are satisfied by how we played, and the energy we displayed,” said Seo.
“We didn’t carry our semifinal disappointment into the last match, we just tried to focus on a point at a time. Obviously we were tired, but we tried to play it a point at a time.
“We gave it everything; I did my best, so I’m satisfied with my effort.”
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