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RIO DE JANEIRO, Aug. 21 (Xinhua) -- Badminton powerhouse China stood on the top place at the badminton medal table with two golds and one bronze, while nine teams took home badminton medals from Rio. Japan was listed second with one gold and one silver. Spain and Indonesia took one gold each, and Malaysia wrapped up three silvers.
China experienced a tough fight and ended the Rio Olympic trip with two golds after Chen Long defeated Lee Chong Wei to claim the men's singles champion on Saturday.
China has won this Olympic event three times in a row, with Lin Dan having won the previous two gold medals. Lee Chong Wei claimed his third silver medal in a row in the men's singles.
The other gold for China came from men's doubles, in which Fu Haifeng and Zhang Nan survived two match points to beat Malaysian duo Goh V Shem and Tan Wee Kion in three sets.
Carolina Martin from Spain became the first non-Asian winner of the Olympic Games badminton women's singles competition after beating PV. Sindhu in a tense final. She also became the second athlete from a non-Asian National Olympic Committee to claim Olympic gold in badminton. It was also the first badminton Olympic gold medal for Spain.
In women's doubles, Misaki Matsutomo and Ayaka Takahashi from Japan launched an astonishing fightback to deny Danish pair Christinna Pedersen and Kamilla Rytter to win and win the country's first Olympic badminton gold medal. Losing women's doubles gold medal shocked China as it's the first time Chinese shuttlers missed the gold medal in 20 years and there were no Chinese shuttlers in the gold and silver final match since 1992.
Indonesia took gold in mixed doubles thanks to Tontowi Ahmad and Liliyana Natsir's victory over Malaysian pair Chan Peng Soon and Goh Liu Ying. This was the first Olympic gold medal for Indonesia in any sport since the men's doubles in 2008.
Team Malaysia was still expecting the first-ever Olympic gold, but neither Lee Chong Wei nor the strong doubles pairs realized the goal.
"We are not a very big country, and I'm sorry with the silver," said Lee after claiming silver in men's singles. "I will do more to our young athletes and hope we can get one gold in Tokyo."
