World No. 1 Seo Seung-jae and Kim Won-ho Eliminated in Men's Doubles Semifinals, Finish with Bronze [Nagoya Asian Games]

[Financial News] World No. 1 men's doubles pair Seo Seung-jae and Kim Won-ho were defeated in the semifinals of the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games, finishing the tournament with a bronze medal.
Seo Seung-jae and Kim Won-ho on the 28th in
Japan's Aichi Prefecture, lost 0-2 (11-21, 14-21) to Indonesia's Daniel Marthin and Leo Rolly Carnando in the men's doubles semifinal held at Ichinomiya City Municipal Gymnasium. The match lasted 32 minutes. After failing to reach the final, Seo Seung-jae and Kim Won-ho will finish the tournament with a bronze medal.
The match took a poor turn from the opening game. With Seo Seung-jae and Kim Won-ho trailing 8-12, they conceded five consecutive points, widening the gap. They eventually dropped the first game 11-21 after just 15 minutes.
There was no turnaround in the second game either. After conceding the first six points in a row, they reached the interval trailing 5-11. They attempted to mount a comeback but could not erase the deficit, ending the match at 14-21.
Their opponents are currently ranked No. 46 in the world. However, Marthin and Carnando had competed with different partners for some time, causing their previous ranking points to expire. The pair had consistently ranked in the world's top 10 in the past.
Since forming their partnership last season, Seo Seung-jae and Kim Won-ho have won 11 titles together, tying the all-time record for the most victories in a single season. However, after failing to win any of their last seven international tournaments, they also missed out on the final at these Asian Games.
South Korea's bid for an Asian Games gold medal in men's doubles has been postponed once again. The country's last gold medal in the event came at the 2002 Busan Asian Games, when Lee Dong-soo and Yoo Yong-sung won the title. Kim Won-ho, who won a silver medal with Choi Sol-gyu at the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games, added another medal with a new partner at these Games and reached the podium for the second consecutive Asian Games.
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