KUALA LUMPUR – Malaysian’s men’s doubles pair Ong Yew Sin-Teo Ee Yi are out of the BWF World Tour Finals title after they lost to Indonesian veterans Mohammad Ahsan-Hendra Setiawan 17-21, 21-13, 21-19 in the semi-finals of the tournament today in Bangkok, Thailand.
After finishing top of Group A, world number eight Yew Sin-Ee Yi held the lead consistently in the first set, but the Indonesians dominated in the second and forced the match into the deciding third set.
It was neck-and-neck in the end, with the score coming to 19-19, but it was the Indonesians that won in the end in a match that went on for 53 minutes.
Yew Sin-Ee Yi felt they played a calm game in the opening set, but rushed it in the second, giving room for Ahsan-Setiawan to catch up and take control from that point.
“They did well in the front court…we tried to catch up in the second set, but we had to play defensive from that point because they started to control the game,” they said.
The pair did manage to sneak in a smile during the post-game interview, as they have been improving since the start of the year.
“The start of 2022 was not very good for us. But over time, we have been getting better, especially in these last few months.
“We hope next year will be even better for us.”
The Malaysian pair defeated world number three Indonesian pair Fajar Alfian-Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo 21-10, 17-21, 19-21 yesterday in their final group stage match.
Together with mixed-doubles pair Tan Kian Meng-Lai Pei Jing, they were the only two Malaysian teams to enter the semi-finals of the championship. – The Vibes, December 10, 2022