PETALING JAYA: Veteran Ong Beng Hee rolled back the years as he clinched the winning point to hand Malaysia a 2-0 win over tops seeds India for a place in the final of the Asian Team Championship in Hong Kong.
It proved to be a day of double joy for Malaysia on Saturday as the women’s team, led by world No. 1 Nicol David, strolled to a 2-0 win over India to reach the final.
Nicol defeated Dipika Pallikal 11-5, 11-5, 11-8 to secure victory after national No. 3 Delia Arnold had thrashed youngster Anaka Alankamony 11-6, 11-1, 11-5. Malaysia will meet Hong Kong in the final after the hosts outplayed Japan 2-0 in the other semi-final.
The day, however, belonged to 34-year-old Beng Hee. He beat Asian No. 1 Saurav Ghosal 12-10, 10-12, 11-8, 11-8.
Earlier, Ivan Yuen clinched the first point by battling past India’s Harinderpal Sandhu 0-11, 11-8, 11-6, 10-12, 12-10, which included saving three match balls in the deciding fifth set.
“It was a tough match. I had a very slow start playing on a completely different court,” said Ivan. “But I slowly got better and eventually outlasted Harinderpal. I’m definitely happy to help the team get into the final.”
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