Shah Alam: The Malaysian women’s team has been drawn to face Korea in the 2022 Badminton Asia Team Championships (BATC) semi-finals, and reaching the last four has also tied the achievements two years ago in the Philippines.
Malaysia lost to Japan 3-0 in the semi-finals two years ago in the Philippines, and the singles coaching director of the Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) hoped the players could play their best to try to advance to the final this time.
“The most important thing now is the preparation of our own team rather than thinking about which team we are going to play against in the semi-finals. I believe if all the players give their commitment, it will definitely be an opportunity for us,” said Wong.
Malaysia’s women’s team had a strong run during the group stage, defeating both Japan and India 3-2 respectively to top Group Y.
Meanwhile, BAM’s doubles coaching director – Rexy Mainaky said the fact that the Malaysian women’s squad managed to win both ties during the group stage should be commended even though the opponents only fielded their second unit team.
“Of course, we know Japan did not send its main team and so did India. However, praise should be given to our women’s squad,” said Mainaky.
“Our new players performed well without any pressure, especially when meeting Japan which saw us trailing 0-2 before bounced back to win the tie,” added Mainaky.
“So, I hope the players will continue to fight hard to advance to the final,” continued Mainaky.
The Malaysian women’s team will play Korea at 10 am Malaysia time while the men’s team will take on Korea at 4 pm Malaysia time on Saturday.
Japan will play Indonesia in another women’s team semi-finals, while Singapore will face Indonesia in the other men’s semis.
