World No. 1 badminton men's doubles pair Seo Seung-jae and Kim Won-ho (both from Samsung Life) failed to advance to the finals at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games.
On September 28, at the Ichinomiya City Gymnasium in Aichi Prefecture, the duo lost to Indonesia's Leo Rolly Carnando and Daniel Martin (ranked 46th) in the semifinals with a score of 0-2 (11-21, 14-21).
Since there is no separate bronze medal match in badminton at the Asian Games, Seo and Kim concluded the tournament with a bronze medal.
The Indonesian pair, Carnando and Martin, have remained at 46th in the world rankings due to a loss of ranking points from a partner change, despite having previously been ranked within the top 10. Seo and Kim had also lost to them 0-2 in the Round of 32 at the China Masters earlier this month.
From the start of the match, Seo and Kim struggled against their opponents' quick net play and intense pressure. They fell behind 8-12 in the first game and allowed five consecutive points, ultimately losing the first game 11-21 in just 15 minutes.
The second game did not see a turnaround in momentum. Seo and Kim allowed six consecutive points right from the start, trailing 5-11, and were unable to find a way to counter the fast pace of their opponents, losing the second game 14-21.
Seo and Kim had previously set a record for the most wins in a single season last year, winning 11 tournaments alongside An Se-young (Samsung Life). This year, they claimed titles at the Malaysia Open, All England Open, and the Asian Championships in April. However, they have not added any further titles in subsequent international competitions.
With their failure to reach the finals, South Korea's badminton team missed out on winning a men's doubles gold medal at the Asian Games for the first time in 24 years since Lee Dong-soo and Yoo Yong-sung achieved it in the 2002 Busan Games.
Kim Won-ho, who won a silver medal at the 2022 Hangzhou Games paired with Choi Sol-kyu, added a bronze medal in this tournament after changing partners.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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