KUALA LUMPUR – Malaysia put up a great fight against Denmark today despite losing 3-2 in the top-of-the-table clash at the High-Tech Sports Centre in Chengdu, China.
The defeat means the Malaysians finished second behind table-toppers Denmark in Group D.
Both Malaysia and Denmark had already qualified for the quarter-finals before today’s clash after thrashing Algeria and Hong Kong respectively.
Today’s tie saw independent singles player Lee Zii Jia going down in straight sets to world number one Viktor Axelsen 21-16, 24-22 in 45 minutes.
The last time both star players met was in 2023 in the Sudirman Cup, which Axelsen pulled out due to injury.
“I’m not satisfied with my performance, I know what my best is and to get back there.
“I still have much more to do. Viktor controlled the game all the way, the gap between us is still there.
“I have also been struggling to find my best condition, but he is a top player,” the 26-year-old told Malaysian media in Chengdu after the match.
However, national number one doubles pair Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik bounced back by leveling the tie 1-1 after defeating world number four pair Anders Skaarup Rasmussen-Kim Astrup 17-21, 21-17, 21-16 in 62 minutes.
“During the first set, they were putting a lot of pressure on us, because they had already secured the first point in the ties. This gave the Danish pair a lot of confidence
“In the second set, we calmed down, focused and believed in ourselves. We got on with our game and it went well,” said Aaron.
“This point is a very important one, I wanted to boost the motivation of the next player,” said team captain Wooi Yik.
At the same time, this win should have given world number 37 Leong Jun Hao the confidence to win. Unfortunately, he had a mountain in the form of Anders Antonsen to climb.
The world number four swatted aside the challenge of the former Asian Junior Champion 21-14, 21-10 in 41 minutes.
Malaysia’s doubles department were to the rescue again after Goh Sze Fei-Nur Izzuddin Rumsani came up trumps in a tight contest over Frederik Sogaard-Rasmus Kjaer 23-21, 22-20 in 50 minutes.
Malaysia’s world number 15 pair were 19-12 down in the first set and Sze Fei admits that nerves played a part in their slow start.
“We were a little nervous coming into the game as Denmark was leading 2-1. Even though we were down in the first set, we had a good mindset and ended up staging a comeback to win the first set,” Sze Fei told the BWF.
Izzuddin added: “We just focused point by point, in our mind we still have the second set so we didn’t feel too pressured but that led to our comeback.”
The tie was balanced 2-2 and it was on 20-year-old Justin to defeat world number 26 Rasmus Gemke to win it for Malaysia.
Unfortunately, the world number 233 went down in a battling display to Gemke 21-13, 19-21, 21-13. – April 30, 2024