SHAH ALAM: The national men’s team are just one step away from defending their title after booking a spot in the final of the 2024 Badminton Asia Team Championship (BATC) by defeating Japan 3-1 in the semi-final yesterday.
The country’s number one singles ace Lee Zii Jia (pix), winner of the 2021 All-England, started the Malaysian campaign on a winning note when he easily downed Kenta Nishimoto 21-18, 21-15 in the opening action at the Setia City Convention Centre.
The momentum of the success was continued by the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, bronze medal winning pair Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik who overcame Akira Koga-Taichi Saito 15-21, 21-17, 21-10 in a closely fought match that went the distance.
As terms looked rosy with a 2-0 lead, second singles Leong Jun Hao who was seen to be enthusiastic, could not overcome Koki Watanabe and stumbled to a 21-19, 12-21, 19-21 defeat in 88 minutes.
Next up however, was the reassuring presence of Goh Sze Fei-Nur Izzudin Nur Rumsani who cheered up the national camp again when they once again contributed the winning point in the 54th minute of the tussle by defeating Kenya Mitsuhashi-Hiroki Okamura 21-15, 21-19 for a 3-1 overall triumph to save the day for Malaysia.
Meanwhile, Zii Jia, who had to be rested due to sinusitis in the quarter-final action against Taiwan (Malaysia won 3-2) yesterday, said he was still not fully fit but the 26-year-old player said cheering home fans raised his spirit to fight for a valuable point.
“I was not 100 percent today but I didn’t want a messy repeat like yesterday’s ill-turn. In the 2024 Indonesia Masters, I had diarrhoea... so my team (Team LZJ) will always observe my condition to see whether I am fit,” he said.
Meanwhile, for Wooi Yik, the victory over the Japanese pair was not only sweet revenge for their previous loss but it was double happiness because today was his 26th birthday.
Wooi Yik, the 2022 World champion shared that a defeat to a Japanese pair at the same tournament two years ago, fuelled him to rise and defeat Akira Koga-Taichi Saito by ending the torment of a three-setter (15-21, 21-17, 21-10).
“At the (2022) BATC tournament two years ago, I lost to Japan on my birthday. So it gave me the motivation to get fired up, I can’t lose like this. It’s my birthday so I want to show (the best) to the fans.
“My birthday wish for this year? I really hope Aaron and I make our dream come true at the Paris Olympic Games and win gold for Malaysia,” he said unabashedly.
In a flashback to the final Group B match at the 2022 BATC tournament, Aaron-Wooi Yik were defeated by the Japanese pair of Ayato Endo-Yuta Takei 21-23, 16-21 one day after his birthday (on Feb 18).
However, Malaysia still advanced to the final to lift the BATC men’s trophy for the first time by beating defending champions Indonesia 3-0.
Tomorrow, Malaysia will face a tough final against China at 4 pm, after the badminton giants defeated South Korea 3-2 in the other semi-final.
Meanwhile, the women’s final will see India and Thailand face off at 10 am today. -Bernama
