KUALA LUMPUR: Defending champions Malaysia will square off against powerhouse China in an intriguing Badminton Asia Team Championships (BATC) final after both teams turned on the style to win the semifinals in Kuala Lumpur today.
Malaysia overcame Japan 3-1, while China battled to a 3-2 victory over South Korea to reach the final.
Lee Zii Jia earned Malaysia a crucial 1-0 lead when he outclassed Kenta Nishimoto 21-18, 21-15 to the delight of the home fans.
The world No 10 played with supreme confidence throughout the 51-minute contest, as he probed the Japanese for mistakes before unleashing his cross-court smashes to devastating effect.
Zii Jia’s confidence was such that he extravagantly celebrated some of his points to increase the decibels in the arena.
“Looking back at this match, I can take back many positives. This victory has boosted my confidence. I was even surprised with how well I played,” he said.
Malaysia doubled that advantage through their men’s doubles pair Aaron Chia and Soh Wooi Yik, who came from a game down to beat Akira Koga and Taichi Sato 15-21, 21-17, 21-10.
The world No 5 pair turned the match on its head in the second and deciding game by keeping the shuttles low and using the angles to find the winners for the 2-0 aggregate lead.
Koki Watanabe reduced the deficit for Japan with a hard-fought 19-21, 21-12, 21-19 victory over Leong Jun Hao, but Malaysia sealed their final berth in the fourth match through second doubles pair Goh Sze Fei and Nur Izzuddin Rumsani.
The world No 22 pair needed 54 minutes to overcome Kenya Mitsuhashi and Hiroki Okamura 21-15, 21-19 to ensure a second consecutive final.
China, meanwhile, depended on their singles shuttlers to secure the final berth as Weng Hongyang, Lu Guang Zu and Lei Lanxi all delivered the points as expected. - FMT
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