Kuala Lumpur: Malaysia lost 2-3 to Indonesia in the third place play-off of Thomas Cup Asian Zone Qualifying Round in Macau, China Saturday.
The absence of world no 1 player Datuk Lee Chong Wei did little to stop Malaysia from taking the first two points.
Daren Liew brought cheers to the Malaysian camp after Indonesia’s first singles player Simon Santoso withdrew with Liew leading the first set 7-2.
The second point was won by the pair of Goh V Shem/Hoon Thien How who beat Alvent Yulianto Chandra/ Hendra Aprida Gunawan 21-14, 21-18 in 26 minutes.
Indonesia came charging back to level the score when Tommy Sugiarto beat Mohammad Arif Abdul Latif 21-15,21-7 in the second singles while Markis Kido/ Hendra Setiawan beat Lim Khim Wah/Teo Kok Siang 21-16,21-13.
Malaysian hopes were dashed when Koo Kien Keat lost to Dionysius Hayom Rumbaka 8-21, 9-21 in the third singles.
Defending champions China are scheduled to meet Japan in the final today.
Malaysia has qualified for the Thomas Cup final round in Wuhan, China, on May 20-27 after beating India 3-0 in the quarter-final on Thursday.
Meanwhile, the Malaysian women’s squad suffered another blow when they were white-washed 5-0 by Indonesia in the round-robin play-offs of the Uber Cup qualifying round in Macau Saturday.
In the round-robin which started Friday, the national team lost 2-3 to Hong Kong.
Besides Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore and Hong Kong are also eyeing the last spot in the Uber Cup finals to be held in Wuhan, China from May 20 to 27.
The Malaysian side were no match for Indonesia when first singles Lydia Cheah was outclassed by Adrianti Firdasari 7-21, 13-21 in 30 minutes before doubles Vivian Hoo-Woon Khe Wei lost to the Indonesia pair of Greysia Polii-Meiliana Jauhari 15-21, 21-18, 15-21.
Sannatasah Saniru failed to keep Malaysia in the hunt when she lost to Maria Febe Kusumastuti 13-21, 18-21.
Second doubles Chin Eei Hui-Goh Liu Ying failed to maintain their excellent performance in the opening set when they were beaten by Nitya Krishinda Maheswari-Anneke Feinya Agustin in three sets, 21-11, 8-21, and 18-21 in 47 minutes.
Even Yang Li Lian failed to deliver a point for Malaysia when she lost 10-21, 9-21 to Lindaweni Fanetri in the third singles match.
The winner of the round-robin play-offs only qualifies for the Uber Cup finals if the team’s ranking is higher than the fourth place in the European zone qualifier.
