PETALING JAYA: The men’s team’s hopes of beating Indonesia in their final Group D tie at the Asia Team Championships came to an end after they went down 2-3 on Thursday (Feb 5).
The match at the Qingdao Conson Gymnasium saw Malaysia make a strong start when Justin Hoh pulled off a surprise by defeating Zaki Ubaidillah 21-16, 21-19.
Men's doubles pair, Wan Arif Junaidi-Yap Roy King doubled Malaysia’s lead with a 21-13, 12-21, 21-13 win over Leo Rolly-Bagas Maulana.
However, Eogene Ewe failed to seal victory for Malaysia despite pushing Prahdishka Bagas into a decider, eventually losing 12-21, 21-14, 15-21.
The same fate befell Choong Hon Jian-Haikal Nazri, who went down to Raymond Indra-Nikolaus Joaquin 21-16, 11-21, 19-21 as Indonesia drew level at 2-2.
The pressure then fell on the shoulders of 17-year-old men’s singles shuttler Kong Wei Xiang against Anthony Ginting.
However, Wei Xiang managed to take the Tokyo 2022 Olympic bronze medallist to a deciding game before succumbing 17-21, 21-13, 18-21.
Despite the defeat, Malaysia still advanced to the quarter-finals alongside Indonesia.
