Badminton: Singapore lose 5-0 to hosts Malaysia in Asia Team C'ships opener
The Singapore men's team crashed to a 5-0 defeat by hosts Malaysia in their Badminton Asia Team Championships Group B opener on Wednesday (Feb 16).
Cheered on by a partisan crowd at the Setia City Convention Centre in Selangor, Malaysia's world No. 7 and All England winner Lee Zii Jia drew first blood in the first singles with a resounding 21-6, 21-14 over world No. 12 and world champion Loh Kean Yew in 30 minutes.
Despite playing his first match of the year after a fallout with the Badminton Association of Malaysia that saw him eventually leave the national set-up, Lee showed he had recovered from the saga as well as niggling injuries he suffered at the end of last year by hitting the crisper and more decisive shots.
Loh, on the other hand, looked out of sorts as he struggled to find his range, as his clears often sailed long and his smashes were fired into the net.
The first doubles was also a straightforward affair as world No. 7 and Tokyo 2020 bronze medallists Aaron Chia and Soh Wooi Yik beat unranked duo Danny Bawa Chrisnanta and Wesley Koh, who were combining for the first time, 21-14, 21-12 in 25 minutes.
In the second singles, Singapore's world No. 104 Jason Teh made 47th-ranked Ng Tze Yong work hard for his 17-21, 24-22, 21-19 win in 78 minutes. Up 19-15 in the second game, Teh was two points away from a memorable victory, but allowed his opponent a way back to force a decider.
The remaining matches conformed to the world rankings as Malaysia's world No. 17 pair of Goh Sze Fei and Nur Izzuddin eased past 1,234th-ranked Terry Hee and Andy Kwek, who had played together just once before, 21-10, 21-13 in 26 minutes.
The Singaporean doubles combinations had required some adjustments as Hee's regular partner Loh Kean Hean - the duo are ranked 85th - tested positive for Covid-19 and did not travel with the team.
In the third singles, Singapore's world No. 274 Joel Koh gave 126th-ranked Leong Jun Hao a good test before the Malaysian won 21-17, 22-20 in 39 minutes.
Meanwhile, in the other Group B match, a second-string Japan side beat Kazakhstan 5-0 without dropping a game.
Singapore will face Japan on Thursday (Feb 17), from which the winners will be in a strong position to qualify for the semi-finals and earn a spot at the Thomas Cup.
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