South Korean women's team coach Hun Su Ji confirmed on Wednesday that their soft tennis ace Kim Ji Eun's surprise withdrawal from the women's singles bronze medal match was made in the hope of securing doubles gold.

The 24-year-old Kim, who came to Doha as one of the highest profile player by winning the silver medal at last year's East Asian Games, injured her left ankle during her 4-0 semifinal loss against Chinese Taipei's Chiang Wan Chi and announced her withdrawal from bronze medal match against Miwa Tsuji from Japan on Wednesday.

Hun said Kim's left ankle was injured badly, but he was confident that Kim would recover in time to partner Lee Bok Soon for Thursday's Group stage in the women's doubles. He also hoped that the player would remain fit all the way to Friday's final.

"Doubles is even tougher than singles," said Hun. "It may worsen the injury even more and you have an obstacle in front of you, we will just have to wait and see."

Kim's problem started on Tuesday in her quarterfinals, but it hindered her performance since the inception of the semifinal clash.