Japan’s Unseeded Femme Pair Ousts Defending Olympic Champs

Badminton may be the fastest racquet sport in the world, but it also very unpredictable.

Team China’s formidable pair of Yang Wei and Zhang Jiewen, the defending Olympic champions, was edged by an unknown duo from Japan. Miyuki Maeda and Satoko Suetsuna managed to turn the tables around after capitalizing on the unforced errors made by Yang and Zheng en route to an 8-21, 23-21, 21-14 victory.

The win was a huge upset for Team China, who is still struggling to dominate the taraflex. Several badminton players of Team China bowed out of the tournament after being ran over by their counterparts.

Yang admitted they lost focus and were bothered by their unforced errors.

For the Japanese tandem, this victory was the biggest achievement of their lives. After winning, they bowed reverently in the center of the court, as if they were chanting a prayer or something.

With the victory, Maeda and Suetsuna now advance to the semifinal round of the Badminton Doubles for Women.