Thomas Cup QF: Malaysia 1 Indonesia 3

Lee Chong Wei is as reliable as ever as he led Malaysia off to a good start by defeating Anthony Ginting 21-19, 21-16 in the opening men's singles. - S.S.KANESAN/The Star

*Captain Lee Chong Wei defeated youngster Anthony Ginting to deliver the expected point from the opening singles.

*But Goh V Shem-Tan Wee Kiong were a let down again as they lost to Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo-Marcus Fernaldi Gideon.

*Lee Zii Jia put up a gallant fight against Jonatan Christie, but was powerless to prevent his opponent from winning Indonesia’s second point to make it 2-1.

*Muhammad Rian Ardianto-Fajar Alfian claimed the winning point to put Indonesia in the semi-finals when they beat Aaron Chia-Teo Ee Yi 21-18, 10-21, 21-9.

BANGKOK: It’s 26 years and counting.

The nation’s wait for Thomas Cup trophy continues as Malaysia were beaten 1-3 by arch-rivals Indonesia in the quarter-finals at the IMPACT Arena in Bangkok on Thursday.

Lee Chong Wei gave Malaysia a fine start by winning the opening singles, but team-mates Goh V Shem-Tan Wee Kiong, Lee Zii Jia and Aaron Chia-Teo Ee Yi have all failed to deliver in their respective matches.

Scratch pair Aaron-Ee Yi failed to produce the magics needed to stretch the clash into the third singles decider as they went down 18-21, 21-10, 9-21 to Muhammad Rian Ardianto-Fajar Alfian.

Earlier, the 35-year-old Chong Wei continued to show that he is dependable when he delivered Malaysia’s first point by defeating a fast-attacking Anthony Ginting 21-19, 21-16 in a 49-minute match.

It was Chong Wei’s second win over the 21-year-old Anthony this year after beating him at the Asian Badminton Championships last month.

“I kept to the same pattern like how I played yesterday (against Viktor Axelsen of Denmark) and went on the assault from the start,” said Chong Wei.

“I looked at opportunites to win points. Anthony is 15 years younger than me and he was aggressive but I managed to play the right game to beat him,” he said.

But the joy was shortlived when national No. 1 doubles shuttlers Goh V Shem-Tan Wee Kiong failed to extend Malaysia’s lead when they went down 19-21, 22-20, 13-21 in a 55-minute match.

The match was closely contested in the first two games but the Malaysians eventually ran out of gas.

Said Wee Kiong: “We actually played well - better than yesterday but lacked luck.”

“It didn’t go our plan in the third game. We’re nervous with our return shots, and made mistakes.

Having failed again to deliver point following their defeat in a tie against Denmark on Wednesday, V Shem said: “The expectations was on us to win and we wanted the same too. We’ve to accept this defeat.

Lee Zii Jia, too, could not secure the second point. The 20-year-old debutant gave world No.11 and KL SEA Games gold medallist Jonatan Christie a run for his money before losing 15-21, 21-11, 13-21 in 48 minutes.

“I tried my best but Jonatan played well today. I kept pushing but it was evident that he was phsyically stronger at the end. I ran out of energy,” said Zii Jia.

 

With the exit, the team failed to achieve the semi-finals target set by the Badminton Association of Malaysia. The last time Chong Wei and Co failed to reach last four was in Wuhan six years ago.

Indonesia will take on China for a place in the final, while defending champions Denmark face Japan in the other semi-final encounter on Friday.