KUALA LUMPUR, May 24 — All four Malaysian mixed doubles pairs crashed out of the first round of the Malaysia Masters 2023 badminton championships, earlier today.
Tan Kian Meng – Lai Pei Jing were the first to be shown the exit when they lost to Thailand’s Supak Jomkoh – Supissara Paewsampran.
The world number 17th ranked Malaysians lost 20 – 22, 20 – 22 to the world number 13 Thai pair in 44 minutes at the Axiata Arena.
Speaking to reporters later, Tan admitted that they were to be blamed for the defeat because they committed mistakes in the crucial stages despite leading in the second game.
“We were leading but threw away points easily at the critical moments. We did not play well today,” he said.
The same fate befell seventh seeds Goh Soon Huat – Shevon Lai Jemie as they played below par and were eliminated by Indonesia’s Praveen Jordan – Melati Daeva Oktavianti.
After losing the first game 19 – 21, Goh – Lai came back to win the second 21 – 18 but could not sustain their form and lost 12 – 21 in the decider.
Malaysia’s losing streak continued when Chan Peng Soon – Cheah Yee See were ousted by Korea’s Kim Won Ho – Jeong Na Eun 21 – 8, 21 – 15.
Chen Tang Jie – Toh Ee Wei, who played well at the recent Sudirman Cup, failed to save Malaysia the blushes, losing 20 – 22, 21 – 11, 21 – 15 to Indonesia’s Rinov Rivaldy – Pitha Haningtyas Mentari.
“We have to shoulder the blame for not playing well, not being fully focused. Now, I am mentally tired and frustrated,” said Chen.
— Bernama
