CHENGDU – Malaysia got off to a bad start in their Uber Cup campaign today with a 4-1 loss to Taiwan at the Chengdu High-Tech Zone Sports Centre.
In the opening singles game, professional shuttler Goh Jin Wei fought hard but lost to the “mighty” Tai Tzu-ying in straight sets.
Although Jin Wei managed to take the lead during the interval for both sets, Tzu-ying eventually won 21-19, 22-20 to give Taiwan a crucial lead.
Former two-time world junior champion Jin Wei acknowledged that she could not hold on to the lead against the world number five, whom she had never beaten after four meetings.
“I think the strong point for top 10 players is that they can keep their cool in critical moments and have the ability to change strategy. I need to boost my mental strength and be bolder,” she told reporters after the game, Bernama reported.
In the second game, the scratch pair of team captain Teoh Mei Xing and Go Pei Kee upset world number 24s Hsu Ya-ching and Lin Wan-ching to give Malaysia a glimmer of hope.
Mei Xing and Pei Kee, who had not played together for over a year, showed no fear through an energetic display to trounce the Taiwanese pair 21-19, 21-17.
Mei Xing was pleased to contribute a consolation point for Malaysia and admitted they did not feel pressured after Jin Wei lost the opening match.
They just stuck to their plan, which worked out well for them to tie the score.
However, Taiwan regained the lead when world number 27 Hsu Wen-chi took second singles K. Letshanaa into a rubber set in a match that lasted 57 minutes.
Letshanaa, ranked 68th, started well by taking the opening game of the third match, 21-13, but ran out of steam and lost to the 26-year-old opponent 17-21, 16-21.
The Selangor-born shuttler expressed disappointment in herself for losing focus during crucial moments in her match against Wen-chi.
This proved costly for her chances of winning, despite it being their first encounter.
“It was quite a tough match. I am disappointed that I was unable to score a point for my team.
“I believed I could have won the second set, but unfortunately, I lost due to a lack of focus, which led to the match going to rubber sets,” she told the Badminton Association of Malaysia.
To stay in the game, Malaysia had to rely on their second doubles team, Ho Lo Ee-Tan Zhing Yi, to at least bring the game to a decider.
Unfortunately, they were outplayed by their Taiwanese opponents, Hu Ling-fang and Teng Chun-hsun, losing the match 17-21, 11-21 in just 32 minutes.
Zhing Yi was especially disappointed that she could not level the score to 2-2, while Lo Ee admitted that they were not in control of their game, which affected the outcome.
The final blow came from Taiwan’s third singles player, Sung Shuo-yun, who won the fourth point for her country by defeating Wong Ling Ching 21-17, 22-20.
This loss puts Malaysia in danger of missing out on a place in the quarter-finals, as they face a daunting task tomorrow against 2018 runners-up Thailand, who beat Australia 5-0 in the other Group B match.
Only the top two teams advance to the quarter-finals. – April 28, 2024