(UPDATES with quotes)
Russian pair Valeria Sorokina and Nina Vislova crushed Canada's Alex Bruce and Li Michele to take badminton bronze in the women's doubles on Saturday.
The Russians scored their country's first-ever Olympic medal in the sport with a ruthless 21-9, 21-10 win.
The competition was weakened considerably with the disqualification of four pairs, including China's No. 1 seeds Wang Xiaoli and Yu Yang of China, for match fixing.
"I feel happy. This medal is very important for us Russian players. ... It is so important for our country," said Sorokina, a 2010 European champion who has never been past the last 16 at the world championships.
Vislova counted her blessings that the pair even had the opportunity to medal.
"I think we have a good luck that we have had the chance to take part in today's competition. It's a super day for us and we just tried to play it to win."
The Canadians managed just one point more than in their group stage match against the same opponents.
The gold medal match is later between Chinese pair Qing Tian and Zhao Yunlei and Japanese duo Mizuki Fujii and Reika Kakiiwa.
