PARIS -- Taiwan's Lee Yang and Wang Chi-Lin retained their Olympic badminton men's doubles title on Sunday, beating China's Liang Weikeng and Wang Chang 21-17 18-21 21-19 at the Porte de La Chapelle arena in Paris in a gripping final.
The Taiwanese pair, who won gold in Tokyo and are childhood friends, fell to the floor screaming when they won an emotionally charged match that saw spectators chanting "Taiwan," although they compete as Chinese Taipei at the Olympics.
Lee threw his racket in the air as the pair received a standing ovation from the euphoric Taiwanese supporters.
Malaysia's Aaron Chia and Soh Wooi Yik bagged bronze after winning 16-21 22-20 21-19 against Kim Astrup and Anders Rasmussen of Denmark in a fight that lasted over an hour, destroyed 34 shuttlecocks and was filled with rallies.
Some Taiwanese supporters arriving for the final ordered to rub off face paint and had banners confiscated as security staff enforced Olympic rules on political messaging.
"I wrote [on my banner] in Taiwanese, not Chinese, because I want to cheer for them," said Mina Syue, a 28-year-old engineer from Taiwan who said her banner had been confiscated after the guards checked the message with translation software.
Syue's banner was in the colors of Taiwan's flag -- a red background with 'Taiwan you're the best!' written in blue and white.
International Olympic Committee rules prohibit flags or signs that include political messages or support countries that are not participating at the Olympics.
Taiwan competes at the Olympics as Chinese Taipei to avoid objections from China, which claims the democratically governed island as its own territory. Taiwan's government rejects Chinese sovereignty claims.