Taiwan's Lee, Yang win men's doubles bronze at BWF World Championships

Taipei, Aug. 23 (CNA) Taiwanese badminton stars Lee Jhe-huei (李哲輝) and Yang Po-hsuan (楊博軒) fell in the men's doubles semifinals at the 2026 BWF World Championships on Saturday to a Chinese duo, giving them a bronze medal, matching Taiwan's best-ever result in the event.

Lee and Yang, ranked 17th in the world and the only unseeded pair in the men's doubles semifinals, lost 21-18, 21-14 to world No. 3 Chinese pair Liang Weikeng (梁偉鏗) and Wang Chang (王昶).

By reaching the semifinals, however, they matched the best result by a Taiwanese men's doubles pair at the world championships, set by Chen Hung-ling (陳宏麟) and Wang Chi-lin (王齊麟) in 2018.

In the fast-paced first game, Lee and Yang trailed 11-9 at the mid-game interval and then quickly drew even at 11-11. But the Chinese ran off the next four points and the Taiwanese could never pull closer than three points the rest of the game.

The Taiwanese pair trailed throughout the second game after losing the first five points and never threatened a comeback.

After the match, the 32-year-old Lee told CNA that the Chinese duo were well-prepared and used their power and speed to keep Lee and Yang under pressure, making it difficult for them to attack or defend effectively.

Yang, 29, echoed his partner's assessment, saying their opponents controlled their serves and returns and that their own defensive play was subpar.

Both said they were satisfied with the bronze medal, but Lee said they felt they "had a chance" to reach the final if they had performed slightly better.

Their coach, Chen Hung-ling, told CNA that it was unfortunate that Lee and Yang were unable to hold on during the back-and-forth exchanges in the first game, but said their breakthrough at this tournament should help them at the upcoming Asian Games in Nagoya, Japan, scheduled for September and October.