He Hanbin and Yu Yang, the new hope for China's mixed doubles, won the bronze medal at Olympic badminton tournament in a gripping match against Flandy Limpele and Vita Marissa from Indonesia 19-21, 21-17, 23-21 Sunday.
The up-and-coming Chinese pair, who lost to another Indonesian pair Nova Widianto and Liliyana natsir in the semi-final, stayed much calmer on the court today, not disturbed by an unfavorable call from the line judge in the third game.
When the score was tied at 21-21, the No.3 seeds from Indonesia made consecutive errors by smashing the shuttle under the net, and thus yielded the victory to the Chinese pair.
"Perseverance helped us clinch the victory," said Yu Yang, who won the gold in women's doubles with her partner Du Jing.
When asked of what she gained most at the Olympics, 22-year-old Yu said that she has improved much in her mindset throughout the Games, but noting that she still has lots of shortcomings to overcome.
While 22-year-old He said he has become more mature at the Games.
"No matter what happens on the court, I won't give up," said the People's Liberation Army Bayi Badminton team member, who made a military salute after the match.
The Indonesians consented that they were outshone by the Chinese pair today.
"It was entirely our own fault. The Chinese played better," said Limpele.
"We lost because towards the end we were tired and also due to the drift," said Marissa.
(Xinhua News Agency August 17, 2008)