FOR the first time since the Badminton Asia Mixed Team Championship (BAMTC) was introduced in 2017, Malaysia has failed to advance past the group stage and qualify for the quarter-finals.
Their campaign in the 2025 edition came to an end today as they suffered a 2-3 defeat to arch-rivals Indonesia during the tournament held in Conson Gymnasium, Qingdao, China.
Malaysia fell behind early when seasoned mixed doubles pair Goh Soon Huat-Shevon Lai Jemie squandered a first-game win of 21-17, eventually losing 13-21, 18-21 to Dejan Fernandisyah-Siti Fadia Silva Ramadhanti.
Indonesia then extended their lead as women’s singles shuttler Komang Ayu Cahya Dewi triumphed over K. Letshanaa, 21-12, 21-19.
National men’s singles player and world number 28, Leong Jun Hao, offered a brief moment of hope for Malaysia as he bounced back from a game down to see off world number 63 Yohanes Saut Marcellyno, 11-21, 22-20, 21-12.
However, the national women’s doubles pair of Go Pei Kee-Teoh Mei Xing failed to keep Malaysia’s hopes alive as they succumbed 21-18, 7-21, 17-21 to Meilysa Trias Puspitasari-Rachel Allessya Rose, which handed Indonesia the crucial winning point.
Indonesia Masters 2025 men’s doubles champions and world number 12 pair Man Wei Chong-Tee Kai Wun prevented a heavier defeat for Malaysia, edging past world number 16 duo Muhammad Shohibul Fikri-Daniel Marthin 25-27, 21-17, 23-21 in the final game.
With this result, Indonesia, who had swept Hong Kong 5-0 in their opening Group B match on Tuesday, advanced to the quarter-finals as group champions, followed by Hong Kong, while Malaysia finished bottom without a single victory.
Yesterday, Malaysia began their Group B campaign on the wrong foot by losing 2-3 to Hong Kong.
Only the top two teams from each group progress to the last eight.
Despite the early exit from the tournament, national men’s singles coach K. Yogendran said he was still satisfied with the shuttlers’ performance.
Yogendran also said that their participation in the BAMTC 2025 provided valuable lessons, offering them a chance to identify areas for improvement and stressed the importance of fostering team spirit as well as dedicating more time to training moving forward.
Wei Chong, on the other hand, acknowledged that while they had given their best effort in Qingdao, there is still much work to be done in order to reach their full potential.
