Kien Keat-Boon Heong, who last beat the Koreans in 2010, raised hopes of an upset when they led 19-13 in the first game but as mistakes crept in, Jae Sung-Yong Dae hauled themselves back.
Even then, Kien Keat-Boon Heong held game point three times but each time, the Koreans came back to eventually win the game. The Malaysians body language in the second indicated the it would be a walk in the park as the Jae Sung-Yong Dae, tipped for gold, took the bronze in 47 minutes.
Korea's Chung Jae Sung-Lee Yong Dae celebrate their bronze playoff win over Malaysia's Koo Kien Keat-Tan Boon Heong on Sunday. |
"I became too tense when we were leading 19-13 as I wanted to desperately win the first game. That led to me making mistakes and once the Koreans won the first game, we couldn't contain them in the second.
"We were desperate to perform after playing poorly in the semi-final (against China's Cai Yun-Fu Haifeng) and the start was just what we wanted. Unfortunately, we couldn't cross the finish line," said Boon Heong.
Defeat was a bitter pill to swallow as the pair had played some of their best badminton in a long while.
"It is disappointing to finish without a medal despite playing well. We tried our level best as we knew we had a great chance but just couldn't do it," said Kien Keat.
Coach Tan Kim Her said losing the first game had a negative effect on Boon Heong.
"Kien Keat played well but once the first game was lost, we could see that Boon Heong become dispirited and the Koreans didn't need a second invitation," said Kim Her.
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