PETALING JAYA: It was sweet revenge and mission accomplished for Malaysia against Hong Kong at the World Women’s Team Championship in Cairo on Wednesday.
The young squad, led by Rachel Arnold, avenged their Asian Team final defeat to Hong Kong in Cheongjun, South Korea last month as they notched an impressive 3-0 win over their traditional rivals to storm into the semi-finals at the Egyptian capital.
The same team of Rachel, Aifa Azman, Chan Yiwen and Yee Xin Ying were stung 2-1 by Hong Kong but they were in an uncompromising mood this time.
They will take on top seeds Egypt in the last four but the odds are against the team to progress.
It will be Malaysia’s sixth appearance in the semi-final stage.
Their previous best outing was at the 2014 edition in Ontario, Canada where a Nicol David-led team lost 1-2 to England in the final.
While the 2014 team of Nicol, Delia Arnold and Low Wee Wern were probably the strongest Malaysian squad to have played in the major tournament, the current team proved they were no pushovers.
With the order of play at 1-3-2 on Wednesday, the 21-year-old Aifa gave Malaysia a rousing start when she outplayed Chan Sin Yuk 11-5, 11-5, 8-11, 12-10 in 33 minutes.
That win set the tone for debutant Yiwen to seal the tie as the 22-year-old held her nerves against a more experienced Tong Tsz Wing to chalk up a 11-1, 7-11, 11-0, 10-12, 11-6 win in 42 minutes as they took an unassailable 2-0 lead to confirm their semi-final berth.
Rachel, already in a celebratory mood, did enough to beat Lee Ka Yi 11-6, 6-11, 11-7 in 26 minutes in a shortened match (best-of-three) to make it a comprehensive 3-0 scoreline.
National head coach Ajaz Azmat hailed the tremendous fighting spirit shown by the team as they exceeded expectations to move into the last four.
“We are very excited! They did very well, and we are really happy. We also played Hong Kong in the Asian team meet in Korea but lost and I think the girls wanted their revenge. They were pretty fired up,” said Ajaz.
“We lost to France (2-1 in a group match on Tuesday), a good team, but the girls were full of confidence after that loss. They felt they could go further in the competition.
“It’s such an excellent run for the players, the coaches and all of those who had been working with us, especially after that dark period of Covid-19 where we were unable to play in any competitions.
“We had organised team bubble training, it was a hard time for us, but we tried to keep the players motivated. So happy it finally paid off.”
Yiwen’s shaky form at the Asian Team saw Malaysia resting her in the final where Xin Ying, 19, was fielded.
This time, Yiwen justified the team’s faith and delivered the winning point against Hong Kong. In fact, Yiwen was the only unbeaten player for Malaysia until the last eight stage.
“It’s my first world team event, so it feels incredible! I sure didn’t expect to come this far,” said Yiwen.
“After the defeat against France, we had a meeting and told ourselves to be there for each other and go for it.
“My plan was simple – just stay in the rally! I knew that Tsz Wing was under a lot of pressure. I am a lot younger, so she has a different kind of pressure, they were 0-1 down, so I just gave it my all.
“When I won that (third) game 11-0, I knew that she was going to come back stronger and mentally, I was prepared for that.”
Meanwhile, another Malaysian who also made waves in Cairo is United States head coach Ong Beng Hee who guided his team to the semi-finals for the first time.
The US team consisting of Amanda Sobhy, her sibling Sabrina and Olivia Fiechter defeated continental rivals Canada 3-0 and will play third seeds England next.
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