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SHAH ALAM – The Malaysian’s men’s badminton team cruise into their second victory at the Badminton Asia Team Championships 2022 with a clean sweep over Kazakhstan by winning all five group matches.
Aidil Sholeh, who was the first to take to the court, felt some anxiety during the initial stages of his match against Artur Niyazov but managed to regain his composure to subdue the Kazakh 21-11, 21-12.
“I felt slightly nervous at first playing in front of fans, and in a big venue like this.
“But after the 11-point interval, I gained back my momentum and felt much better going forward,” said the 18-year-old.
Next up was Lim Chong King, who crushed Khaitmurat Kulmatov 21-11, 21-11.
Despite feeling out of sync during the first few minutes of the match, Chong King eventually found his footing and sent his opponent packing in straight sets.
“After a while, I could adapt my style of playing to that of my opponent, leading me to make less mistakes.
“I believe I was conditioned better than him, which gave me the advantage,” he said.
The winning point for the Malaysian contingent against Kazakhstan was delivered by Kok Jing Hong, who thrashed Makhsut Tajibullayev 21-8, 21-4 in a speedy 20 minutes.
When asked about his stunning performance, the 20-year-old thanked his coaches for giving him the opportunity to showcase his skills on court.
“As this is my debut, I took the opportunity to show what I had.
“I didn’t look down on my opponent in the least and I’m happy to have given the team the winning point,” said Jing Hong, who barely broke a sweat.
The doubles pair of Man Wei Chong-Tee Kai Wun also made short work of Kazakh duo Jangir Ibrayev-Ilya Lysenko, annihilating them in 17 minutes with a score of 21-5,21-5.
The sweep was finished off in spectacular fashion by Goh Sze Fei-Nur Izzuddin, who beat Andrey Shalagin-Makhsut Tajibullayev 21-8, 21-4 in a quick 15 minutes.
Earlier today, the Indonesian men’s team defeated Korea 3-2 while India’s men’s squad racked up the same score against Hong Kong China.
For the women’s group, Hong Kong China made easy work of Kazahstan − winning all five matches.
The Malaysian men’s team take on Japan in their final group stage match tomorrow. – The Vibes, February 17, 2022
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