Fired-up: Toh Ee Wei (back) and Chen Tang Jie celebrate after winning opening point for Malaysia. - Badminton Photo
PETALING JAYA: Malaysia led by mixed doubles pair Chen Tang Jie-Toh Ee Wei defeated Taiwan 4-1 to reach the quarter-finals of the Sudirman Cup as Group C winners in Suzhou, China today (May 17).
Third-ranked pair Tang Jie-Ee Wei fought brilliantly to beat Taiwan's No. 1 pair Ye Hong-wei-Lee Chia-hsin 17-21, 21-19, 21-17 to get Malaysia off to a positive start.
The duo never gave up even when they were down 15-18 in the second game but fought all the way to win it. It was equally close in the decider but Tang Jie-Ee Wei, looking stylish with their silver-coloured hair-do, showed spunk to pull off a sensational win.
It was their first match in the Sudirman Cup as national No. 1 Goh Soon Huat-Shevon Lai Jemie were fielded in their wins against Australia (5-0) and India (5-0)
"It was our first Sudirman Cup and we were determined to give our best. I must thank my partner Tang Jie for his fantastic play. We are so happy to give the first point for the team," said Ee Wei.
"Our strategy worked great today," added Tang Jie.
Next, Zii Jia ended his four-match losing streak against Tien-chen by pulling off a 21-14, 23-21 win to give Malaysia the second point.
Said Zii Jia: "It's a revenge after losing against him the last four times. I played patiently and had better control. I'm proud of myself as I was able to give team a point."
Hope was on Goh Jin Wei to reproduce another upset win in the Sudirman Cup, this time against Tai Tzu-ying but the former went down tamely 8-21, 10-21 in just 28 minutes.
On Monday, she had beaten former world champion P.V. Sindhu to contribute one point in Malaysia's win against India.
World No. 8 Ong Yew Sin-Teo Ee Yi were fielded instead of world champion Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik and the duo did not waste the opportunity as they defeated Lu Ching-yao-Yang Po-han 21-8, 23-21.
With their win, Malaysia won the tie 3-1 even before Pearly Tan-M. Thinaah went on court.
A fired-up Pearly-Thinaah dropped one game before beating Hsu Ya-ching-Teng chun-hsun 21-15, 19-21, 21-15.
In the draw to be held later today, the eight teams (top two from every group) will be drawn randomly against each other in the last-eight knockout stage based on two criteria – teams from the same group don’t play each other, and the winners of the groups play the second-best teams of the other groups.
RESULTS
Group C: Malaysia bt Taiwan 4-1 (Chen Tang Jie-Toh Ee Wei bt Ye Hong-wei-Lee Chia-hsin 17-21, 21-19, 21-17; Lee Zii Jia bt Chou Tien-chen 21-14, 23-21; Goh Jin Wei lost to Tai Tzu-ying 8-21, 10-21; Ong Yew Sin-Teo Ee Yi bt Lu Ching-yao-Yang Po-han 21-8, 23-21; Pearly Tan-M. Thinaah bt Hsu Ya-ching-Teng Chin-hsun 21-15, 19-21, 21-15).
