China back on top in women's doubles with gold and silver win

Chen Qing Chen and Jia Yi Fan of China and their compatriots, Shiyu Lu and Ning Tan, pose for a photo after the Women

Chen Qing Chen and Jia Yi Fan of China and their compatriots, Shiyu Lu and Ning Tan, pose for a photo after the Women’s Doubles Gold Medal Match – Credit: Elsa/Getty Images)

China’s Chen Qingchen and Jia Yifan beat compatriots Liu Shengshu and Tan Ning to the women’s doubles badminton gold at the Porte de La Chapelle arena in the Paris Games on Saturday.

Japan’s Chiharu Shida and Nami Matsuyama bagged bronze after beating Malaysia’s Pearly Tan and Thinaah Muralitharan earlier in the day.

The final was aggressive from the start, with a series of powerful smashes from Liu and Tan on the very first serve. But Chen and Jia, who won 22-20 21-15 are world number one for a reason and their rivals rank third.

It was China’s second gold medal in badminton at Paris, having won the mixed doubles final on Friday. The country has won 20 gold medals in the sport since its inclusion at the Olympics in 1992 in Barcelona.

Japan’s Shida and Matsuyama took bronze with a more comfortable 21-11 21-11 win over Malaysia’s Tan and Muralitharan.

Surprisingly, this is China’s first gold in women’s doubles since London 2012.