THE third placing match is probably harder – and defeat more painful – than the final. A loser in the final will at least get a silver medal.
Ask former men’s doubles shuttlers Koo Kien Keat and Tan Boon Heong.
In the 2012 London Olympics, the pair lost to China’s eventual gold medallists Fu Haifeng-Cai Yun in the semi-finals but what hurt them most was the second heartbreak when they lost to South Korea’s Jung Jae-sung-Lee Yong-dae in the bronze medal match.
Now, they have a piece of sage advice for current pair Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik, who will take on Denmark’s world No. 2 Kim Astrup-Anders Skaarup Rasmussen in the playoff match for the bronze in the Paris Olympics today.
“They have to play like it is the final. They have to keep up the spirit and continue fighting,” said Kien Keat.
World No. 3 Aaron-Wooi Yik suffered a painful 19-21, 21-15, 21-17 defeat at the hands of China’s world No. 1 Liang Weikeng-Wang Chang in the semi-finals.
The duo now have to shake off their disappointment and try to win their second bronze after their success in the 2021 Tokyo Games.
Kien Keat wants Aaron-Wooi Yik to avoid the fate he had suffered and personally sent a message to the pair to motivate them ahead of the crucial match against the Danes.
“I think the spirit must be the same like they are playing in a final or semi-final.
‘‘This is very important,” said Kien Keat.
“Boon Heong and I could not keep up our spirits for the bronze medal match. I have personally texted Aaron to tell him this and I think they will deliver because they won this match in the last Olympics.”
Boon Heong, meanwhile, wants Aaron-Wooi Yik to forget about their semi-final defeat.
“They need to put that defeat behind them and focus fully on the bronze medal match,” he said. “They have experienced this situation before in 2021 and they managed to win the bronze, so they know how to handle this. I hope they can win the bronze again.”
National coaching director Rexy Mainaky also said the semi-final loss was “heartbreaking”.
“Aaron-Wooi Yik fought hard against the Chinese pair but it is not the end of the world,” he said.
“Our pair can still return home with a bronze. They have to shift their focus to Sunday’s match,” Rexy said.
“We will continue to motivate them to win the Olympic bronze.”
Based on head-to-head records, Aaron-Wooi Yik have the advantage as they have beaten Astrup-Rasmussen in seven of their past 11 meetings.
“This is the biggest game of our lives.
‘‘So, obviously we will be ready,” said Astrup in an interview with the Badminton World Federation (BWF).
