[UPDATED] Malaysia women’s badminton team goes south against South Korea

SHAH ALAM – The Malaysian women’s team failed to make it to the finals of the Badminton Asia Team Championships, losing three straight matches to the South Korean team at the Setia City Convention Centre.

S. Kisona was the first to take the court against the South Korean squad, facing off against Sim Yujin.

The world number 64 failed to secure the first win of the day, losing 21-16, 21-17.

“Overall, I think I played a good game, I managed to catch up in the second set with a good lead.

“But I made too many unforced errors after that, simple mistakes,” she said after the match.

The duo of Pearly Tan-Valeree Siow also failed to give the nation hope as they crashed out to Baek Ha Na-Seong Seung Yeon, losing 21-15, 21-14 in the second match.

Speaking to media after the match, Pearly Tan said, “I think they are more consistent than us point-by-point, we made some silly mistakes which is very unsatisfying.

“For our partnership, we sometimes crash into each other, we don’t know which shuttle is mine and which is Valeree’s, so we need to work on our rotations.”

The devastating blow came in the third match as Siti Nurshuhaini took on Lee Se Yeon.

The 17-year-old came back to win the second set after losing the first set but despite her best efforts, she crumbled under pressure in the third set. The final score was 21-11, 15-21, 21-13.

“At the start it took me a while to understand her game, so I just played along and tried to come back in the second set.

“I managed to come back as she started to make some mistakes, which gave me the chance to catch up.

“But I lost my focus in the third set. However, I gained valuable experience from this tournament that will surely be useful in the future,” said Siti.

South Korea face Indonesia in the finals tomorrow as Japan pulled out from the semi-finals earlier today. – The Vibes, February 19, 2022