KUALA LUMPUR: National professional men’s doubles pair Ong Yew Sin-Teo Ee Yi’s have once again missed out on the final after losing in a fierce battle in the semifinal of the Badminton World Federation (BWF) 2022 World Tour Finals in Bangkok, Thailand, today.
The world number eight pair, who lost at the same stage in the last edition, went down to three-time world champions and 2019 edition champions from Indonesia, Mohammad Ahsan-Hendra Setiawan 21-17, 13-21, 19-21 in a 53-minute match at the Nimibutr Arena.
Yew Sin-Ee Yi began fiercely in the first set, taking a 12-5 lead, but started to make mistakes that allowed the world number six pair to tie the score at 13-13 before regaining some composure to end the set with a 21-17 win.
However, the Indonesian duo’s experience was clearly the separating factor as they rose to dominate the second and third sets to book their slot in the final.
The victory also saw Mohammad Ahsan-Hendra Setiawan take a commanding 4-1 head-to-head win record against the Malaysians while Yew Sin-Ee Yi missed the opportunity to make history by becoming the first Malaysian representatives to reach the final since the inaugural edition in 2018.
Speaking to BWF after the match, Yew Sin admitted that he and Ee Yi failed to continue their positive display in the first set when trying to seal the win in the second and third sets.
“I think in the first set, we play quite calmly and we didn’t play their game so much because the Indonesians love those drive shots which we tried to avoid, we did it well in the first game.
“In the second set I think we rushed it a little bit and played their game, they started well and the lead too far. Overall this year, the starting wasn’t that good, and then in the last few months it got better, we hope next year is much better,” said the 27-year-old.
Meanwhile, Ee Yi once again accepted the defeat in the semi-final, describing the opposition as the better team, especially in front of the net.
Yew Sin-Ee Yi advanced to the semi-finals after topping Group A with wins over Choi Sol Gyu-Kim Won Ho from South Korea and Fajar Alfian-Muhammad Rian Ardianto (Indonesia), and losing to Takuro Hoki- Yugo Kobayashi (Japan).
Awaiting Mohammad Ahsan-Hendra Setiawan in the final are Chinese duo Liu Yu Chen-Ou Xuan Yi, after they won 22-20, 11-21, 21-19 over Fajar Alfian-Muhammad Rian in another semi-final action. - Bernama
