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RIO DE JANEIRO, Aug. 15 (Xinhua) -- China's two mixed doubles pairs lost their semifinals on Monday, failing to make the gold medal match of the 2016 Rio Olympic Games.
Top seeds Zhang Nan/Zhao Yunlei were defeated by Indonesia's Tontowi Ahmad/Lilyana Natsir 16-21, 16-21, while Malaysia's Chan Peng Soon/Goh Liu Ying beat Xu Chen/Ma Jin of China 21-12, 21-19 in front of the roaring fans.
The mixed gold medal of badminton was believed to be the most hopeful for China with the gold and silver medalists at the London Olympics into the Rio semifinals.
"Indonesian pair played better, and we had some problems in small details. We expected it would be tough and got prepared, but we were not the better ones," said Zhang Nan after match.
However, China had the good news in the morning as its two pairs headed into the last four of the men's doubles. Fu Haifeng and Zhang Nan, Chai Biao and Hong Wei defeated their South Korean and Russian rivals respectively, ensuring a medal at least.
Britain's Marcus Ellis/Chris Langridge and Malaysia's Goh V Shem/Tan Wee Kiong entered the semis as well. Top seeds Lee Yong Dae/Yoo Yeon Seong of South Korea were surprisingly defeated by the Malaysia's pair 17-21, 21-18, 21-19.
The only Chinese pair in the women's doubles carried China's hope to win the gold medal for the fifth consecutive time, as Tang Yuanting/Yu Yang beat Indonesia's Nitya Krishinda Maheswari/Greysia Polii 21-11, 21-14.
Tang/Yu's opponents in the next round will be Denmark's Christinna Pedersen/Kamilla Rytter Juhl, who stopped South Korea's Chang Ye Na/Lee So Hee 28-26, 18-21, 21-15.
Top seeds Misaki Matsutomo/Ayaka Takahashi of Japan and Jung Kyung Eun/Shin Seung Chan of South Korea ensured a place in the final four.
Besides three top seeds who enjoyed a bye and entered the top eight directly, five other players secured their berths in the quarterfinal respectively in men's and women's singles.
India's Srikanth Kidambi, South Korea's Son Wan Ho, Chou Tien Chen of Chinese Taipei, Victor Axelsen of Denmark and Britain's Rajiv Ouseph made into the final eight.
Kidambi, who beat Jan O Jorgensen of Denmark will meet China's Lin Dan next round.
South Korea's Sung Ji Hyun, India's PV Sindhu, Japan's Nozomi Okuhara and Akane Yamaguchi, and Pomtip Buranaprasertsuk of Thailand secured a berth in the final eight.
