By Rizal Abdullah
Malaysia were handed a tough draw in Friday’s quarter-finals in the inaugural Robot Badminton Asia Mixed Team Championships following the completion of the group matches on Thursday.
Fourth seeds Malaysia will face top seeds and favourites China for a place in the semi-finals after finishing runners-up in Group B. Second seeds South Korea, winners of Group D will face Group A runners-up Taiwan while Group B champions Indonesia were drawn to meet Group C runners-up Japan.
Earlier in the morning Malaysia fell to a 3-2 defeat to Indonesia in a thrilling Group B decider for the top two spots.
Despite the defeat the Malaysians gave an inspiring performance and the tie would have gone either way.
The Indonesians rode on their wins in the men’s doubles through Wahyu Arya Pankaryanira-Ade Yusuf, Gregoria Mariska in the women’s singles and Anggia Shitta Awanda-Tiara Rosaila Nuraidah in the women’s doubles.
Malaysia’s points came through Lim Chi Wing in the men’s singles and Goh Soon Huat-Shevon Lai Jemie in the mixed doubles.
Chi Wing defeated Firman Abdul Kholik 21-19, 21-15 for Malaysia’s first point after Indonesia raced to a 2=0 lead by taking the men’s doubles and women’s singles.
“It was a satisfying win for me as I pulled one point back for my country and kept the team in the hunt,” said Chi Wing after his win over the Indonesian.
“It is different playing in a team event. I must admit that I was nervous in my game after Indonesia had won the first two matches for a 2-0 lead.
“This was my first match in this tournament but the confidence I gained in my win will inspire me if I am fielded in the remaining matches. I would like to help my country play in the semi-finals.
“Who we meet in the quarter-finals will be tough but we should be ready to face any team,” added Chi Wing.
Shevon Lai thanked Soon Huat for guiding her in the game.
“Soon Huat has been an inspiration to me. His encouragement on the court helped me a lot and I am still learning from mistakes,” said Shevon after the win.
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RESULTS (Thurs Feb 16)
GROUP A
CHINAÂ Â Â 5Â Â Â Â Â TAIWANÂ Â Â Â 0
(China first)
MS: Shi Yuqi beat Hsu Jen Hao 21-17, 21-14
WS: He Bingjiao beat Lee Chia Hsin 21-12, 12-21, 21-14
MD: Liu Cheng-Zhang Nan beat Chen Hung Ling-Wang Chi-Lin 21-17, 14-21, 21-18
WD: Chen Qingchen-Jia Yifan beat Chang Ching Hui-Yang Ching Tun 21-10, 21-16
XD: Chen Qingchen-Zheng Siwei beat Hu Ling Fang-Tseng Min Hao 21-12, 26-24
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GROUP B
INDONESIAÂ Â Â 3Â Â Â MALAYSIAÂ Â Â 2
(Indonesia first)
MS: Firman Abdul Kholik lost to Lim Chi Wing 19-21, 18-21
WS: Gregoria Mariska beat Lee Ying Ying 21-8, 16-21, 21-15
MD: Wahyu Arya Pankaryanira-Ade Yusuf beat Ong Yew Sin-Teo Ee Yi 21-11, 17-21, 22-20
WD: Anggia Shitta Awanda-Tiara Rosaila Nuraidah beat Chow Mei Kuan-Lee Meng Yean 21-19, 21-18
XD: Edi Subaktiar-Gloria Emanuelle Widjaja lost to Goh Soon Huat-Shevon Lai Jemie 16-21, 16-21
