PETALING JAYA: The Malaysian Thomas Cup team was given a scare by a much weaker England side after managing only a wobbly 3-2 victory in their opening Group B match in Horsens, Denmark today.
It took third singles player Lee Zii Jia to deliver the winning point by defeating Nadeem Dalvi after England led twice following a poor show by Justin Hoh and Aidil Sholeh in the first two singles matches, losing to their much lower-ranked English rivals.
Malaysia had fallen behind to England in the two earlier singles matches, before top doubles pairs Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik and Man Wei Chong-Tee Kai Wun cancelled England’s lead twice, allowing veteran Jii Zia to came to the rescue in the final match.
Jii Zia’s victory keep alive Malaysia’s hopes of qualifying for the quarter-finals.
Malaysia play Finland on Monday and barring a major upset, they should be booking a quarter-final berth with a win. They will take on Japan in the final Group B match on Wednesday.
MORE TO COME
