Hong Kong will have the chance to win their first medal at the games when the men's badminton team takes on Fujian in the third and fourth place play-offs at the Kunshan Sport Centre tonight.
The SAR team lost the opportunity to reach the final when they were well beaten by pre-tournament favourites Guangdong 3-0 in last night's semi-final.
In the other semi-final, hosts Jiangsu were given a scare before they defeated Fujian 3-1 in a thrilling four-hour match. With strong support from the home crowd, Jiangsu took a 2-0 lead and looked comfortable for a routine victory. However, the tough visitors pulled back one set before losing 3-1.
Having finished second in the group stage, Hong Kong were forced to take on their mighty neighbours Guangdong, the top finishers in the other group, and they were not given much chance to survive.
'The first match against Guangdong was crucial, but unfortunately our first singles player failed to take the chances that came his way,' said Hong Kong coach Chan Chi-choi. 'As a result, the players for the next two matches were put under great pressure as they could not afford losing. It was extremely difficult for the underdog to overcome the opposition under such unfavourable conditions.
'The play-off for bronze against Fujian will also be hard, although it will not be as hard as against Guangdong. We have never met them before in a team competition, although the players know each other very well from playing on the circuit. The Fujian team boast three China national team players - Chen Hong, Gong Weijie and Xie Xin which makes them the better side on paper. However, I am sure that our boys will not give up easily without putting up a good fight.'