China's mixed doubles duo wins first badminton gold medal at London Olympic

LONDON, Aug. 3 (Xinhua) -- China's mixed doubles players Zhang Nan and Zhao Yunlei beat their teammates Xu Chen and Ma Jin at the Wembley Arena Friday afternoon, clinching the first gold medal in badminton events at the London Olympics.

Their scores were 21-11 and 21-17. Xu and Ma snatched the silver. It is the first time China bags both the gold and the silver medals of the event at the Olympics.

Zhang/Zhao, the world No. 1 seed, dominated the court from the beginning, while their rivals made more mistakes. In the second game, they scored eight points in a row. Xu and Ma rallied to catch up, collecting four points before the match point. But they were too far behind to surpass.

After the match, the excited Zhang lay down on the court, before throwing his shoes to the crowd and waving a national flag as celebration, while the woman player Zhao appeared calm.

"The gold medal is a recognition for our training and preparation before the Olympics," Zhao said. "And it signals a new starting point as well."

This is her first time to the Olympic arena. "I didn't have a goal before coming here, just telling myself to do the best." She made a phone call to her parents. "They had been very supportive, not calling me and sending me text messages during the training after I arrived here. So I briefed them my victory."

Unlike her, Zhang said he came here to get the gold medal which was elusive to the Chinese team in 2008.