As expected it was a 5-0 beating for Malaysia against second seeds and 10-time champions China in their opening Group 1D match in the World Mixed Team Championships which got underway in Nanning, China on Sunday.
The crushing defeat at the hands of mighty China had left Malaysia no choice but to beat India in their next match on Tuesday to stay alive in the biennial championships or pack their bags for an early return.
However, despite the big defeat, there were some encouraging performances by the Malaysians which gives them hope of a place in the knockout stage. The top two teams from each group will advance to the quarter-finals.
World No 13 and All-England runners-up Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik gave a good account of themselves in the men’s doubles but simply could finish off world champion and third-ranked Li Junhui-Liu Yuchen who won 18-21, 21-14, 24-22 in an hour-long match.
There was also an encouraging performance by 23rd ranked Soniia Cheah in the women’s singles against World No 3 and reigning All-England champion Chen Yufei who prevailed 21-15, 21-23, 21-14 in 69 minutes to give China a 2-0 lead.
Lee Zii Jia was outclassed by Shi Yuqi in the men’s singles. Yuqi was hardly troubled by the Malaysian in his 21-12, 21-11 win in 36 minutes.
In the women’s doubles, Du Yue-Li Yunhui won 21-18, 21-14 against Vivian Hoo-Yap Cheng Wen before Zheng Siwei-Huang Yaqiong wrapped up the scoreline with straight games 21-16, 21-12 win over Tan Kian Meng-Lai Pei Jing in the mixed doubles.
Meanwhile, in a Group 1B match Indonesia, winners of the inaugural Sudirman Cup in 1989 outplayed England 4-1 while in Group 1C match Chinese Taipei prevailed 3-2 over Hong Kong China. – BY RIZAL ABDULLAH
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