Moment of joy: Chen Tang Jie (right) and Toh Ee Wei celebrate after beating Taiwan’s Ye Hong-wei-Lee Chia-hsin. — Badminton Photo
PETALING JAYA: The colour, glitter and swagger are back in the Malaysian badminton scene, thanks to the Sudirman Cup team.
The squad powered their way into the quarter-finals as Group C champions by beating Taiwan 4-1 in Suzhou, China yesterday.
It was their third convincing win after having beaten India and Australia by identical 5-0 scores.
To add to the excitement, there were coloured and stylish hair-dos, tattoos and even special cheers and celebrations after every win.
There wasn’t just a show of strength, there was a touch of showbiz as well.
On the court, they put up courageous performances, with creative shots, and aggression on court. It was like a breath of fresh air.
Yesterday, Chen Tang Jie-Toh Ee Wei, looking cool with their silver-coloured manes, started the ball rolling when they gave a solid show to beat Taiwan’s No. 1 pair Ye Hong-wei-Lee Chia-hsin 17-21, 21-19, 21-17.
Even when they were down 15-18 in the second game, the duo fought back with great gusto.
It was their first match in the mixed team competition as they stepped in for the top pair of Goh Soon Huat-Shevon Lai Jemie, who were fielded in the last two group matches.
“The new look helps us look confident on court. So far, we are enjoying it,” said Ee Wei.
Singles shuttler Lee Zii Jia seems to have found his mojo again and was impressive against Chou Tien-chen, with a superb 21-14, 23-21 win. The last time he beat the Taiwanese was four years ago at the 2019 Indonesian Masters.
The 24-year-old even made several unbelievable return shots and displayed good defence to avenge his recent losses, including in the World Tour Finals in December last year.
“It was my first win in five matches, so I’m very happy with my performance, and I handled the pressure very well. It was all about patience,” said Zii Jia.
“I surprised myself with some of my shots – it’s been a long time. It’s an important point for Malaysia, and I’m proud of myself.”
Malaysia dropped a point when Goh Jin Wei lost to Tai Tzu-ying 8-21, 10-21. She was probably still recovering from her hard-fought win over India’s P. V. Sindhu a day earlier.
The next two points were won by Ong Yew Sin-Teo Ee Yi and Pearly Tan-M. Thinaah.
Doubles coaching director Rexy Mainaky was a happy man.
“The team are looking solid but we don’t want to be too stressed ahead of the quarter-finals.
“We want them to play better to reach the target (semi-finals) and go beyond,” he said.
Malaysia are looking for a favourable draw as they could be facing one of these teams – Denmark (Group A runners-up), Thailand or Indonesia (Group B runners-up) and South Korea or Japan (Group D runners-up) - in the quarter-finals tomorrow.
