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Team Great Britain’s Chris Langridge and Marcus Ellis claimed the bronze medal after beating China’s Hong Wei and Chai Biao.
Ranked 22nd in the world, the Team GB pair put up the performance of their life and beat the world number three pair 21-18, 19-21, 21-10, with wins also coming against South Korea’s third-ranked pair of Kim Gi-Jung and Kim Sa-Rang.
Chris Langridge and Marcus Ellis’s teamwork was apparent for all to see throughout the match as they displayed their best smash game, repeatedly managing to get through the Chinese defences while having defending attacks.
This allowed the GB duo to dominate the final game and eventually gain a lead – a time when you wouldn’t blame the 22nd seeds getting nervous (when in fact in was the other way round).
It took a review on a point when Great Britain were 20-10 up to seal the victory and give the pair an unlikely bronze medal.
On the successful review, Ellis told BBC Sport: “I can’t even describe how I felt after we saw that.
“This is an incredible feeling. After how we performed in our very first match, we knew we could compete with anybody.
“We could have easily folded following the second set after being so close to taking it. I am very proud of how we came out in the third.”
The opening game was a tight affair with neither side being able to get a lead and dominate. Impressively, it was the British pair who came out on top at the end of the game.
Badminton England will now hope that their first badminton medal in twelve years for Team GB at the Olympics will inspire the younger generation as well.
Great Britain’s most recent Olympic Badminton medal was won in 2004 at the Athens Olympic games when Nathan Robertson and Gail Emms won silver in the mixed doubles.
