Malaysia’s challenge ends as Kian Meng-Pei Jing crash out in semis

KUALA LUMPUR: It was the end of the road for national shuttlers when mixed doubles pair Tan Kian Meng-Lai Pei Jing lost 13-21, 17-21 to China's secondranked combination of Wang Yilyu-Huang Dongping in the semi-finals of the 2019 Malaysian Open Badminton Championships at the Axiata Arena in Bukit Jalil yesterday.

This is the second time since the 2015 edition that there will be no Malaysians in the finals of the Malaysia Open.

For Pei Jing, there is a lesson to learn from the defeat.

“Although we lost today, we saw what the difference was between us and them...they are the top of the world ranking. We need to strive harder to catch up with them. I hope we will give improved performances in every tournament that we compete in from now on,” she said.

Kian Meng-Pei Jing has endured a dismal year, thus far, having crashed out in the first round of all four tournaments they competed in, namely the Malaysia Masters, Indonesia Masters, German Open and the All-England.

Kian Meng, who thanked the fans for their vociferous support, said the pair did not feel any pressure despite being the only Malaysian representatives in the semi-finals.

“No reason to be under pressure as we did not dwell on it too much. It's just that today we could not find a proper rhythm to our game. Our opponents also attacked us a lot. But I'm satisfied as we fought till the end,” he said.

The mixed doubles final will be an all-China affair between YilyuDongping and Du Yue-Li Yinhui, who had earlier defeated Thailand's Dechapol Puavaranukroh-Sapsiree Taerattanachai 21-14, 21-9.

The men's doubles final will see third-seeded Japanese pair Takeshi Kamura-Keigo Sonoda taking on second seeds Li Junhui-Liu Yuchen of China.

The women's doubles final will also be an all-China affair between Chen Qingchen-Jia Yifan and Du Yue-Li Yinhui.