PHNOM PENH: The national men’s badminton squad stormed into the semi-finals of the team event after beating Vietnam 3-1 in the 2023 SEA Games here today.
World number 61 player Leong Jun Hao drew first blood for Malaysia when he thumped Nguyen Hai Dang 21-14, 21-16 in the quarter-final tie at the Morodok Techo National Stadium’s Badminton Hall.
Beh Chun Meng-Goh Boon Zhe then extended Malaysia’s lead with a 21-19, 21-14 win over Vietnam’s Nguyen Dinh Hoang-Tran Dinh Manh despite facing stiff resistance in the first game.
However, Lee Shun Yang, ranked 93rd in the world, failed to carry the winning momentum as he went down to world number 163 player Le Duc Phat 13-21, 21-16, 7-21 in the second singles.
National second doubles Chia Weijie-Liew Xun then stepped up to the plate to overcome Xun Nguyen Xuan Hung-Pham Van Hai 21-14, 21-18 to take Malaysia to the semi-finals tomorrow.
In the semi-finals, second seeded Malaysia will face defending champions Thailand, who saw off Cambodia 3-0 in the last eight.
Weijie, when met after the match, admitted that they lost their focus in the final stage of the second game, which allowed the Vietnamese pair to score five points on the trot to narrow the gap to 19-18.
Weijie and his partner then regained their composure to confirm the winning point for Malaysia.
Weijie said they are raring to face the Thais while Liew vowed to avenge their 3-0 loss to their opponents in the 2021 edition final.
The last time the men’s squad won the gold medal was in Manila 2005.
Yesterday, the national women’s squad suffered another embarrassing meltdown as they were humiliated 3-0 by the Philippines in the team event quarter-finals.
This was their second back-to-back quarter-final exit after they were beaten 3-1 by Vietnam at the 2021 SEA Games in Hanoi. – BERNAMA
