KUALA LUMPUR: The national shuttlers continued to thrill local badminton fans after defeating Denmark 3-1 to qualify for the semi-finals of the 2023 Sudirman Cup mixed team championships in Suzhou, China, yesterday.
The Malaysian shuttlers, who put on a gutsy display, also enjoyed some good fortune when world number men’s singles ace Viktor Axelsen had to concede a walkover due to an injury.
Malaysia, who are facing Denmark for the first time in the prestigious tournament, began in style when Orleans Masters mixed doubles champions Chen Tang Jie-Toh Ee Wei fought back from a first-game loss to overcome Mathias Christiansen-Alexandra Boje 15-21, 21-14, 21-7.
The match between national men’s singles ace Lee Zii Jia and Axelsen was expected to be a thrilling affair but it ended tamely when the Dane had to withdraw after suffering an injury early in the game.
With Malaysia leading 2-0, it was left to women’s singles ace Goh Jin Wei to deliver the winning point but she went down fighting 14-21, 21-15, 19-21 to Mia Blichfeldt in a titanic one hour and nine-minute clash in the third match.
Undaunted, the national team went on to clinch the winning point through world men’s doubles champions Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik, who defeated Kim Astrup-Anders Skaarup Rasmussen 21-17, 21-16.
Malaysia can expect a torrid time in the semi-finals when they take on South Korea at 10 am (Malaysian time) today.
South Korea advanced to the last four after defeating Taiwan 3-1 in another quarter-final tie yesterday.
The other semi-final will see China taking on Japan. In today’s quarter-finals, Japan edged Thailand 3-2 while China beat Indonesia 3-0.
In the group stages, Malaysia topped Group C after winning all three matches - beating Australia 5-0, India 5-0 and Taiwan 4-1.
Malaysia’s best achievement in the Sudirman Cup was making the semi-finals in 2009 in Guangzhou, China, and in 2021 in Vantaa, Finland. - Bernama