Shah Alam: Malaysia’s men’s team got off to a smashing start by beating Singapore 5-0 in their first Group B tie at the 2022 Badminton Asia Team Championships (BATC) on Wednesday.
The reigning All England champion, Lee Zii Jia scored the first point for Malaysia when he eased past reigning World Champion, Loh Kean Yew 21-6, 21-14 in the first men’s singles match.
It was sweet revenge for Lee after losing to Loh in the first round of the 2021 French Open and the in the final of the 2021 HYLO Open final.
“I’m very happy to be able to absorb the pressure in today’s match because I realize this is the match that all the fans are looking forward to. I’m really excited to play against Kean Yew,” said Lee.
Meanwhile, Loh Kean Yew admitted that he was not at his best.
“I think Zii Jia played very well. I think every tournament will be different, he performed very well today,” said Loh.
When asked if the five-day quarantine in Malaysia has affected his performance, Loh said: “Definitely, it’s a different experience. I was trying to see how I perform after quarantine. I’ll learn from this,” added Loh.
Malaysia’s World No. 7 men’s doubles pair Aaron Chia/Soh Wooi Yik contributed the second point when they beat scratch pair Danny Bawa Chrisnanta/Wesley Koh Eng Keat 21-14, 21-12. Singapore had to rest its World No. 85 men’s doubles player – Loh Kean Hean as he was tested COVID-19 positive.
In the second men’s singles match that followed, after dropping the first game 17-21 to Singapore’s World No. 102 Jason Teh Jia Heng, Malaysia’s World No. 47 Ng Tze Yong was trailing 15-19 in the second set but staged a remarkable comeback to reel off 5 consecutive points to lead at 20-19, before winning the second game 24-22. Ng continued his fighting spirit in the decider to see off Teh 21-19 and to clinch the winning point for the Malaysian team.
“I have only been training for one week after recovering from COVID-19. I will play better in upcoming matches,” said Ng.
Malaysia’s second men’s doubles pair – Nur Izzuddin/Goh Sze Fei grabbed the fourth point after beating Terry Hee Yong Kai/Andy Jun Liang Kwek 21-10, 21-13 before third men’s singles, Leong Jun Hao completed the sweep with 21-17, 22-20 victory over Joel Koh Jia Wei.
Malaysia is scheduled to meet Kazakhstan in the second Group B tie on Thursday.
In the women’s team event, Malaysia’s women’s team emerged as champions in Group Y after beating India 3-2 on Wednesday. The victory has confirmed Malaysia’s tickets to both the semi-finals of the 2022 BATC and also the 2022 Uber Cup Finals that will be held in Bangkok from May 8, 2022, to May 15, 2022.
