Kuala Lumpur: In the battle for the third and fourth place of Axiata Cup, Malaysia lost to Asia All-Stars based on overall points scored.
All-Stars Asia and Malaysia were tied 2-2 after each team won two of the four matches played. Nonetheless, victory went to Asia All-Stars based on the overall number of points scored in the games played when they collected 147 points compared to only 140 garnered by the Malaysia squad.
Malaysia’s men’s singles player Chong Wei Feng got off to a good start but lost his rhythm after stopping several times due to lighting disturbance. He ended up losing 20-22 and 16-21 to Hu Yun of Hong Kong.
Tee Jing Yi who scored a crucial second point for Malaysian in yesterday’s semi-finals, found no answer to the more aggressive and much quicker Tai Tzu Ying of Taiwan, Tee bowed out 12-21 and 8-21 in 27 minutes.
In men’s doubles, Tan Boon Heong-Tan Wee Kiong rolled to a 21-11, 21-13 victory over India’s Manu Attri-Sumeeth Reddy to pull Malaysia back on track trailing with a 1-2.
After their heart-breaking loss in yesterday semi-final, the Malaysian mixed doubles pair of Chan Peng Soon and Lai Pei Jing restored their fire power to thump Lee Chun Hei and Chau Hoi Wah of Hong Kong 21-19, 21-19 in 38 minutes.
Here is the final Axiata Cup prize money breakdown:
1.Thailand received USD400, 000 (RM1.2 million)
2.Indonesia received USD200, 000 (RM700,000)
3.Asia All-Stars received USD150,000 (RM480,000)
4.Malaysians received USD100,000 (RM330,000)
5.Europe All-Stars USD60,000 (RM200,000)
6.Vietnam USD40,000 (RM140,000)
7.Singapore USD30,000 (RM110,000)
8.Philippines USD20,000 (RM70,000)
