Alor Setar: Malaysia has made the 2018 Badminton Asia Team Championships (BATC) semi-finals after beating Hong Kong 3-0 on Friday.
In the quarter-final tie against Hong Kong, Malaysian badminton superstar Lee Chong Wei overcame a spirited effort from Hong Kong player Angus Ng Ka 21-15, 22-20 to give his team the first point in the quarter-final tie that took place at the Sultan Abdul Halim Stadium Suka Menanti.
The Rio Olympic silver medalists Goh V Shem/Tan Wee Kiong then wasted no time to tame Or Chin Chung/Tang Chun Man 21-11, 21-16 to extend Malaysia’s lead to 2-0.
In the second men’s singles match, 19-year-old Malaysian Lee Zii Jia continued his strong form by seeing off Vincent Wong Wing Ki 21-16, 21-15 to clinch the tie for the home team with 3-0.
After the victory, Malaysia has been guaranteed a place for the Thomas Cup finals that will be held in Bangkok, Thailand this May.
When asked about the semi-finals tie against China, since Malaysia already made the Thomas Cup finals on merit, World No. 2 Lee Chong Wei hinted he may skip the semi-finals to give young players more exposures in the big stage.
“Despite the loss against Thailand, young players such as Lee Zii Jia and Iskandar have shown great improvements by bouncing back to beat Myanmar and Taiwan,” said Lee.
“I will discuss this with the coaches to see if the coaches would like to give younger players a chance to practice for the Thomas Cup,” said Lee.
Meanwhile, Indonesia will play Korea in another men’s team semi-final tie.
