South Korean pair Lee Hyo-jung/Lee Yong-dae claimed the badminton mixed doubles title at the Beijing Olympics on Sunday, beating Nova Widianto/Liliyana from Indonesia 21-11, 21-17 in the final.

He Hanbin/Yu Yang from China beat Flandy Limpele/Vita Marissa from Indonesia in the bronze medal fight earlier.

The two Lees crushed their opponents by taking lead through the two games.

Lee Yong-dae said he wanted to thank his mother for supporting him in playing badminton after Sunday's victory. He has earned great popularity back in South Korea, and was aware of his own popularity when he went to Internet after winning in the semifinals.

"I felt so upset when I lost in the men's doubles because I really wanted to get a medal in that event instead of mixed doubles. So I just played my normal standard today and it was enough to get the gold medal," said Lee Yong-dae.

The Indonesians were too late to start their attacks and were left way behind. "They played excellently and we had no chance of catching up. Lee Yong-dae's playing style was extremely dangerous tonight," said Widianto.

Liliyana attributed her low concentration level to the hard three games against Chinese pair of He Hanbin and Yu Yang in the semifinal on Saturday.

(Xinhua News Agency August 17, 2008)