Net losses hit home in Hangzhou

Shock defeats in badminton and table tennis leave humbled Team China searching for answers

Back-to-back team losses in badminton and table tennis at the Asiad have exposed China's vulnerability in racket sports it once dominated, with athletes' lack of grit and grind raising concerns ahead of Paris 2024.

As Kim Ga-eun jumped into the celebrating pack of South Korean players following a decisive win in the women's team final against China, her opponent He Bingjiao was inconsolable, looking up at the roof to stem the flow of tears in front of a deflated home crowd at Binjiang Gymnasium in Hangzhou.

A shocking 3-0 defeat, with two singles and one doubles loss, all in straight games, on Sunday delivered a harsh wake-up call for Team China: Now the women's squad is also on the wane following the decline of the men's program.

World No 1 An Se-young got South Korea off to a strong start by beating reigning Olympic champion Chen Yufei in style in the first singles rubber, followed by a surprising doubles win for Baek Ha-na and Lee So-hee over China's top-ranked duo Chen Qingchen and Jia Yifan.

Kim then held off a battling He in a 70-minute slugfest to clinch South Korea's first women's team gold at the Asiad in 29 years.

It was a second straight loss for the Chinese women's team against South Korea at a major tournament following a 3-2 defeat at last year's Uber Cup final in Thailand.