Suzhou: Malaysia is through to the 2023 Sudirman Cup semi-finals following a 3-1 win over Denmark on Friday.
Highlights of Malaysia vs. Denmark in the 2023 Sudirman Cup quarter-finals:
World No. 22 Chen Tang Jie/Toh Ee Wei collected the opening point for Malaysia, beating World No. 18 Mathias Christiansen/Alexandra Bøje 15-21, 21-14, 21-7 in a match that lasted 58 minutes.
“I think the match was a bit difficult for us because winning the first point for the team was very important, and Tang Jie and I were fighting hard to win the first point. Luckily, we accepted the challenge and handled the pressure well,” said Toh.
“We played calmly in the second set and we were confident in ourselves and didn’t think too much. We applied our strategies correctly and were able to play in our own way. That is the key to victory for today,” added Toh.
In the men’s singles match that followed, Malaysia’s Lee Zii Jia barely break a sweat after Denmark’s World No. 1 Viktor Axelsen pulled his left hamstring muscle while leading 4-3 in the first set and had to ask for medical attention.
Although Axelsen tried to resume the game after a medical time-out, it seemed like he was still having difficulty moving and he had to make a difficult decision to withdraw at the score of 4-4. That gave the Malaysian team a huge relief and a comfortable 2-0 lead.
“I’m still in shock. Whatever it is, I hope Axelsen’s injury is not too serious and can recover quickly. I hope all is well for him,” said Lee after the match.
“We had a little talk about the injury after the match, he told me he can’t continue to match,” added Lee.
“I don’t think I even noticed when he picked up that injury because I focused 100 percent on this fight and I didn’t expect this kind of ending,” explained Lee.
Malaysia couldn’t wrap up the tie with 3-0 after Goh Jin Wei put up a strong fight, but lost to Mia Blichfeldt 14-21, 21-15, 19-21 in the women’s singles match to make the overall score 2-1.
Fortunately, the reigning men’s doubles World Champions Aaron Chia/Soh Wooi Yik saved the day for Malaysia when they beat Kim Astrup/Anders Skaarup Rasmussen in straight sets 21-17, 21-16 to seal a 3-1 victory.
Malaysia is scheduled to meet South Korea in the semi-finals on Saturday after Korea beat Chinese Taipei 3-1 in another tie that took place this morning.
Highlights of Korea vs. Chinese Taipei in the 2023 Sudirman Cup quarter-finals:
Japan is also set to meet defending champions China for another semi-final action after Japan came back from 1-2 down to beat Thailand 3-2 while the hosts – China swept Indonesia 3-0.
Highlights of Japan vs. Thailand in the 2023 Sudirman Cup quarter-finals:
Highlights of China vs. Indonesia in the 2023 Sudirman Cup quarter-finals:
