KUALA LUMPUR, Fri:
The national badminton squad hit a brick wall in the knock-out stage of the quarter-final matches at the China Masters in Guangzhou today.
In the women’s doubles, the country’s fourth-seeded pair Chin Eei Hui/Wong Pei Tty unexpectedly lost to unseeded Zhang Dan/Zhang Zhibo of Macau.
Despite clinching the first set 21-14, Eei Hui/Pei Tty, the world No 10, were unable to maintain the winning momentum when they were crushed in the second set 21-14 and went on to lose narrowly 22-20 in the rubber set.
In the men’s doubles, two juniors pairs were also shown the exit.
Gan Teik Chai/Lin Woon Fui who received a walkover from Shuici Sakamoto-Shintaro Ikeda of Japan in the second round, were tamed by second-seeded Chinese duo Cai Yun/Fu Haifeng 21-11, 21-13 in a 27-minute battle.
Another Malaysian pair, Khoo Chung Chiat/Tan Bin Shen were defeated by Hendra Aprida Gunawan/Joko Riyadi of Indonesia also in straight sets 21-15, 21-14 in 26 minutes.
