KUALA LUMPUR – Malaysia advanced to the semi-finals of the Thomas Cup for the first time since 2016 after defeating Japan 3-1 in Chengdu, China today.
Men’s doubles duo Goh Sze Fei-Nur Izzuddin Rumsani delivered the winning point after defeating Akira Koga-Taichi Saito 18-21, 21-15, 21-12 to send the country through at the High-Tech Zone Sports Centre.
Earlier, independent men’s singles player Lee Zii Jia got the ball rolling by dropping his iron hammer on Kenta Nishimoto, swatting aside the world number 11’s challenge 21-13, 21-3 in 33 minutes.
The Kedahan was happy he could handle the pressure of delivering Malaysia’s opening point.
“I have played in many team events and I have dealt with many situations, and with that experience, I’m ready to overcome the situations I come across.
“I know that by winning the first point I will boost the confidence of my teammates, that is why when I won I was very excited,” said the 26-year-old to the Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) after the match.
However, national number one doubles pair Aaron Chia-Soh Woi Yik could not continue the momentum after going down to Takuro Hoki-Yugo Kobayashi.
The Japanese former world champions dropped the first set but battled back in the second and third sets to win a pulsating 67-minute battle 18-21, 21-14, 21-19.
With the score 1-1, it was on Leong Jun Hao to return the advantage to Malaysia and the omens looked good with the world number 37 holding a 2-1 head-to-head record against the higher-ranked Koki Watanabe.
The world number 22 did not look at his best and lost tamely to Jun Hao 21-13, 21-10 in 35 minutes to put Malaysia back in front.
“The pressure on me was high especially after Aaron and Wooi Yik lost. I just prepared what I needed to do and kept the pressure on my opponent on the court,” the 24-year-old shuttler told BAM.
Then, it was Sze Fei and Izzuddin’s turn to deliver the winning point but they faced the daunting challenge of facing Koga-Saito, who had beaten the Malaysians in all three of their previous meetings.
The 15h-ranked pair did not have a good start after losing a close first set, but they quickly rallied to take the second and third sets to send Malaysia into a semi-final against China on Saturday.
The win by Sze Fei and Izzuddin marked the end of the road for former world number one Kento Momota, as it was not necessary for him to enter the court to play Justin Hoh in the third singles. – May 2, 2024