KUALA LUMPUR, May 17 — The national badminton squad continued their winning streak when they managed to emerge as the group champion in the last game of Group C of the Sudirman Cup 2023 after a 4-1 victory over Taiwan in Suzhou, China , earlier today.
The national team's victory started with Orleans Masters champions Chen Tang Jie - Toh Ee Wei collecting the first point for the national team when they recovered from a first-set loss to edge Ye Hong Wei - Lee Chia Hsin 17 - 21, 21 - 19, 21 - 17 in the opening match.
National professional men's singles Lee Zii Jia then continued the momentum of the country's success by overpowering world’s number five Chou Tien Chen 21 - 14, 23 - 21 in an intense encounter that lasted 52 minutes.
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National badminton athletes and mixed doubles players Chen Tang Jie (front) and Toh Ee Wei (back) in action during their match against Indonesian players Rehan Naufal Kusharjanto and Lisa Ayu Kusumawati, at the 2023 Malaysia Open Badminton Championships in Axiata Arena Bukit Jalil, Kuala Lumpur, on January 12, 2023. — Picture by BERNAMA[/caption]
However, Tai Tzu Ying, ranked third in the world and also the silver medalist at the Tokyo Olympic Games, became Taiwan's snatch one point when she easily defeated national women's singles Goh Jin Wei 21 - 8, 21 - 10 in just 28 minutes.
The defeat did not discourage men’s doubles Ong Yew Sin - Teo Ee Yi to collect the third point for Malaysia by defeating Lu Ching Yao - Yang Po Han 21 - 8, 21 - 10.
World number eight women’s doubles Pearly Tan - M. Thinaah then fought hard against Hsu Ya Ching - Teng Chun Hsun to complete Malaysia's victory by winning the fourth point 21 - 15, 19 - 21, 21 - 15, which took one hour and 11 minutes.
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National badminton players and women’s doubles pair Pearly Tan (left) and M. Thinaah (right) training for the 2022 Malaysia Open Badminton Championships, at Axiata Arena Bukit Jalil in Kuala Lumpur, on June 27, 2022. — Picture by BERNAMA[/caption]
The victory over Taiwan gave the advantage to the national squad as group champions in avoiding meeting the other group champions in the draw for the quarter-finals.
On Monday (May 15), Malaysia confirmed their ticket to the top eight after their second win by beating India 5 - 0.
Earlier, India also confirmed the slot in the quarter-finals and became the Group's runner-up, defeating Australia 4 - 1 in another Group C match today.
Meanwhile, commenting on the match, Toh admitted the victory achieved was due to the coach's strategy, apart from the solid support shown by the team throughout the match.
"Even though it was strenuous, their support (teammates) is really helping and I really appreciate it," she said via an audio recording shared with reporters.
— Bernama
