SHAH ALAM – The Malaysia men’s and women’s badminton teams will face South Korea in the semifinals of the Badminton Asia Team Championships at the Setia City Convention Centre tomorrow after both teams reached the last four.
The draw was made seconds after today’s game wrapped up where the national men's team beat Japan 3-2 in their last group stage match.
Meanwhile, in the men’s Group A match, South Korea defeated Hong Kong 4-1.
During the final Group B tie, All-England champion Lee Zii Jia gave the country hope after scoring the first point as he won a thrilling match against Riku Hatano 15-21, 21-6, 21-15.
However, doubles pair Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik failed to keep the winning streak going as they lost in straight sets against Ayato Endo-Yuta Takei, 21-23, 16-21.
Singles player Aidil Sholeh also lost another point as he went down against Koo Takahashi in what seemed to be a taxing match that ended after 1 hour 16 minutes, 21-19, 16-21, 15-21.
In a turn of events, Malaysia levelled the score when doubles pair Goh Sze Fei-Nur Izzuddin came from behind to tie it up in the fourth game against Shuntaro Mezaki-Haruya Nishida, 17-21, 21-17, 21-17 within 47 minutes.
In the final game, singles Leong Jun Hao completed the round as he scored the winning point for Malaysia but at the cost of a slight injury.
Towards the end of the second set, the 22-year-old suffered a blister on his right index finger when he was facing 18-year-old Koshiro Moriguchi.
Although he was visibly in pain, he successfully maintained his composure to secure his win in a straightforward 21-18, 21-16 within 44 minutes.
The women's team will take on South Korea at 10am, while the men's team will play at 4pm. – The Vibes, February 18, 2022
