PETALING JAYA: K. Letshanaa’s impressive run in the Malaysian Masters came to an end after she lost to Japan’s Hina Akechi 21-19, 12-21,10-21 in the quarter-finals on Friday (May 22).
The Malaysian took the opening game against Akechi, but the world No. 24 fought back strongly to force a decider and win in 57 minutes.
Letshanaa came into the match full of confidence after upsetting third seed Tomoka Miyazaki in the second round.
"It was a good fight and I’m a bit disappointed that I couldn’t win. But (Akechi) played well today and was very consistent.
"Maybe I wanted to finish the points too quickly, especially in the first game. Maybe that’s why I started to lose focus.
"But she also played very well, stayed consistent with her game plan and kept changing her approach," said Letshanaa.
She will next compete in the Singapore Open, where she faces China’s world No. 4 Chen Yufei in the first round.
