RIO DE JANEIRO: Shuttlers Vivian Hoo Kah Mun-Woon Khe Wei tried their best but had to eventually concede to the superiority of Japan’s Misaki Matsutomo-Ayaka Takahashi in their Rio Olympics women’s doubles quarter-final on Monday.
The Japanese top seeds won 21-16, 18-21, 21-9 to advance to a semi-final meeting with South Korea’s Jung Kyung Eun-Shin Seung Chan on Tuesday.
It was the first time in eight meetings with the Japanese that Vivian-Khe Wei had taken a game off them but the World No 1 pair turned on the power in the decider to seal their semi-final berth in 72 minutes.
“We lost a little focus at the start of the third game and this allowed the Japanese to build a healthy lead.
“We were also a little tired after giving it our all in the first two games and found it hard to narrow the gap in the third,” said Vivian.
Unforced errors - especially in the third - also played a part in the defeat.
“This has been our problem against the Japanese pair. They were more consistent than us and our errors in the third game made it a little easier for them.
“However, we are quite happy with our performance as this is the first time we have taken a game off them,” said Khe Wei.