KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia trounced India 5-0 for their second Group C win and seal a place in the quarter-finals of the 2023 Sudirman Cup mixed team championship in Suzhou, China, yesterday.
Knowing they have to win if they intend to go far in the championship, the professional mixed doubles pair of Goh Soon Huat-Shevon Jemie Lai kickstarted Malaysia’s quest by downing Dhruv Kapila-Ashwini Ponnappa 21-16, 21-17 for the first point.
National men’s singles professional ace Lee Zii Jia then took just 36 minutes to deliver the second point when he outplayed Srikanth Kidambi 21-16, 21-11.
National women’s singles professional shuttler Goh Jin Wei then played superbly to edge world number 12 Pusarla V Sindhu 14-21, 21-10, 22-20 for her first win against the Indian ace in five outings to put Malaysia 3-0 up.
There was no stopping Malaysia as men’s doubles pair Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik overcame Satwiksairaj Rankireddy-Chirag Shetty 21-18, 21-19 before the top national women’s doubles combination of Pearly Tan-M. Thinaah completed the rout with a 21-15, 21-13 triumph over Treesa Jolly-Gayatri Pulella.
Yesterday’s victory puts Malaysia on top of the Group C standings, followed by Taiwan, India and Australia.
Earlier, Taiwan also confirmed their quarter-final slot after defeating Australia 5-0 in another Group C match.
Based on the tournament format, the top two teams after the group matches will advance to the quarter-finals.
Meanwhile, Shevon said she and Soon Huat are happy to have contributed the first point, which boosted their teammates’ confidence to go and dominate the proceedings.
“Very happy to have handled the pressure and the game just now was crucial to boosting the team’s spirit,” she said.
Malaysia will complete their group fixtures by taking on Taiwan on Wednesday (May 17). -Bernama