Malaysian pair march into Olympic finals

PETALING JAYA: Malaysian badminton doubles pair Goh V Shem-Tan Wee Kiong have clinched a spot in the final of the men's doubles after defeating Chinese pair Chai Biao-Hong Wei during their semi-final match at the Rio Olympics.

Goh and Tan are now guaranteed at least a silver medal in the men’s event of the competition.

The match ended 21-18, 12-21, 21-17 after three sets.

In the first set, the Malaysians had gone ahead 11-8 at the break only to see the Chinese make a return to tie the game at 15-15.

However Goh and Tan quickly pulled away to win the set.

The Chinese pair started strong in the second set, taking a three point lead before Goh and Tan had a chance to react.

The set remained tense throughout the first half with China leading 11-8 at the break.

However, Chai and Hong cruised to a comfortable win in the end, with the Malaysians hardly putting up a fight.

Goh and Tan were quick to recover from their disappointing performance in the rubber set as they came back strong to take a 11-6 lead at the interval.

The Malaysians maintained their solid performance, despite some nervous moments to eventually win the set and the match.

Goh and Tan are now guaranteed at least a silver medal in the men’s event of the competition.

The pair will now play either Great Britain’s Marcus Ellis and Chris Langridge or China’s Zhang Nan and Fu Haifeng in the final on Friday.

The match for the bronze medal will be played on Thursday.

On Wednesday, Datuk Lee Chong Wei will meet Chinese player Chou Tien-chen in the men’s singles quarter-finals at 7.30pm (Malaysian time).

Malaysian mixed doubles pair Goh Liu Ying-Chan Peng Soon will meet Indonesian pair Tantowi-Ahsan in the finals on Wednesday (Aug 17) at 11.30pm.