Malaysia go down 1-3 to China in Thomas Cup semis

It's over: Malaysia men’s doubles shuttlers Goh Sze Fei-Nur Izzuddin Rumsani could not deliver a point for Malaysia against China. — IZZRAFIQ ALIAS/The Star

CHENGDU: It's over for Malaysia as they lost 1-3 to mighty China in the semi-finals of the Thomas Cup Finals.

The hope was on Goh Sze Fei-Nur Izzuddin Rumsani to keep Malaysia's challenge alive in the second doubles after the team trailed 1-2 but they could not deliver at the Hi-Tech Sports Centre in Chengdu, China on Saturday (May 4).

The duo fought valiantly but went down fighting 21-18, 19-21, 12-21 to world No. 11 He Jiting-Ren Xiangyu in 63 minutes.

Sze Fei-Izzuddin played well to win the first game and were close to winning the second but narrowly lost out and ran out of steam in the third.

Malaysia will have to settle for bronze while China will take on 14-time winners Indonesia in the final on Sunday (May 5).

Indonesia ousted Taiwan 3-0 in the other last four tie.

Earlier, Malaysia suffered a meltdown in the singles with the defeats of Lee Zii Jia and Leong Jun Hao while world No. 4 Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik salvaged some pride by delivering a point in the first doubles.

Zii Jia got off to an anti-climactic start when he went down 19-21, 5- 21 to the world No. 2 Shi Yuqi in the first singles.

It was neck-and-neck all the way in the first game before Yuqi stayed composed to snatch the last two points at 19-19 to seal the win.

The narrow win seemed to give the Chinese ace an extra spring in his step and he raced to an 11-1 lead and never looked back to wrap up the win.

“I played well in the first game but I could not follow Yuqi’s pace in the second game,” lamented Zii Jia.

“I lost many points in the beginning of the second game and it was hard for me to catch up.

“I’m disappointed as I knew this was an important point for the team.

It was Yuqi's fifth win over world No. 10 Zii Jia in six meetings in international competitions.

Malaysia faced a tough task after Zii Jia's defeat but Aaron-Wooi Yik did their part to save the day in the first doubles.

The former world champions hung on as they brought the team level with a brilliant come-from-behind 15-21, 21-12, 21-17 win over world No. 1 Liang Weikeng-Wang Chang.

Aaron-Wooi Yik showed great fighting spirit and determination to come away with the thrilling win in 55 minutes.

Said captain Wooi Yik: “It was a tough game. We focused on the service and receive situations and gained confidence when our game plan worked."

“In the third game, we were leading and Weikeng-Wang Chang caught up but we kept communicating well and this helped us win.

“We are very happy to get the point for the team.”

It was the only the pair's second win in eight meetings with Weikeng-Wang Chang.

Next up was world No. 37 Leong Jun Hao but after a fighting display in the opening game, he went down 17-21, 10-21 to world No. 6 Li Shifeng who made it 2-1 for China in style.

Jun Hao started well and led 8-3 but could not maintain his performance and lost the first game.

Just like Yuqi, Shifeng was on another level in the second game and led 11-0 before going on to claim the win in 46 minutes.