South Korean women’s volleyball and handball teams were eliminated from the semifinals Thursday, backing down from their long-time dream of setting a golden Olympic milestone in London.

However, rhythmic gymnast Son Yeon-jae placed fourth on the first day of the qualification round, raising the chance of advancing to the all-around final, which will be a first in Korean Olympic history.

South Korea added no medals Thursday and went down a notch to fifth behind Russia in the medals race.

The Korean side was blanked by world No. 1 U.S. 0-3 (20-25, 22-25, 22-25) in the semifinal round of women’s volleyball in which the Koreans had advanced for the first time in 36 years. South Korea will attempt to win an Olympic medal after capturing the bronze in Montreal in 1976.

South Korea will play Japan for the bronze medal at 7:30 p.m. Korean time Saturday. Japan fell to Brazil in three straight sets. It is the first time for two Asian teams to make it to the semifinals since the 1988 Seoul Olympics. 

The semifinal match against the Americans was tense. South Korea began to crack under Destinee Hooker’s high spikes buttressed by her teammates’ tall blockings. Hooker scored 24 points throughout the three sets, while Kim Yeon-koung scored 20 for South Korea.

In the handball contest, South Korea failed to put up much of a fight, losing its eighth straight Olympic semifinal to world champion Norway 25-31.

It was a rematch after the Koreans had drawn with the 2008 Beijing Olympic winner 27-27 in the group stage.

South Korea has won a handball medal in six of the past seven Olympics.

With its defense exposed by the nimble Norwegians, South Korea never led after scoring first in the second minute.

Norwegian goalie Katrine Lunde Haraldsen turned aside nine South Korean shots in the second half.

Heidi Loke led all scorers with eight points. Gwon Han-na was the leading scorer for South Korea with seven.

South Korea will take on Spain in the bronze medal match at 1:00 a.m. Korean time on Sunday.

In rhythmic gymnastics, Son put together solid performances in the hoop-and-ball routines, earning 28.075 and 27.825 points, respectively. She finished fourth among 24 gymnasts.

The top 10 gymnasts after all four routines, including clubs and ribbon segments, will qualify for Saturday’s final.

The 18-year-old is seeking to become the first South Korean rhythmic gymnast to make an Olympic final. It was her first Olympics.

“I’ve prepared so hard for the Olympics, and my primary goal is to reach the final,” she said. “I was surprised with such a high score in the hoop. I made a mistake in ball, but I am confident that I can put up good scores in clubs and ribbons, too.”

By Chun Sung-woo (swchun@heraldcorp.com)