PETALING JAYA: Men’s doubles pair Hoon Thien How-Tan Wee Kiong are out of the German Open, after losing to Japan's Takeshi Kamura-Keigo Sonoda in the semi-finals.
The world No. 8 pair lost in straight games 19-21, 14-21.
The first game was a tightly-contested one with the score tied at 19-19 at one point but the national pair lost the next two points to concede the game.
In the second game, the Japanese pair did not lift their foot off the pedal and wrapped up the match in just 33 minutes.
The semi-finals also witnessed the exit of all of Thailand's shuttlers.
In the men's doubles, Maneepong Jongjit-Nipitphon Puangpuapech were beaten 21-17, 16-21, 12-21 by Hiroyuki Endo-Kenichi Hayawaka of Japan.
It will now be an all-Japanese final for the men's doubles.
The next casualty for the Thais was in the women’s singles category when Sung Ji-hyun of South Korea beat Nichaon Jindapon 21-16, 21-16.
The final blow for the country came in the mixed doubles category when Scottish pair Robert Blair-Imogen Bankier beat Maneepong Jongjit-Sapsiree Taerattanachai 21-17, 21-14.
With that, there will be no South-East Asian representative in any of the German Open finals.
The Japanese have the biggest representation. Apart from their two pairs in the men's doubles, their shuttlers will also feature in the women’s singles and doubles categories.
