By Nurin Najmina Zaidi
KUALA LUMPUR, 21 February 2022: The Malaysian men’s team won the Badminton Asia Team Championships (BATC) for the first time yesterday (20 February) defeating the defending champions Indonesia 3-0.
According to Bernama report, Malaysia managed to defeat Indonesia’s second-stringers which ended their arch-rivals’ hopes of winning the BATC for the fourth time since 2016.
In the tournament, Malaysia’s All England champion, Lee Zii Jia, had a rough start losing 14-21 to Chico Aura Dwi Wardoyo in the first match.
Lee Zii Jia, however, started to step up a gear with a series of furious attacks, taking a 16-6 lead against the 23-year-old Indonesian before winning the second match 21-12 in front of a 200-strong home audience at the Setia City Convention Centre.
Lee Zii Jia, then, outplayed Chico Aura Dwi Wardoyo in the rubber game 21-10 causing Malaysia to earn its first point.
In the meantime, Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik, the bronze medalist from the Tokyo Olympics 2020, had to fight for 56 minutes to beat Leo Rolly Carnando-Daniel Marthin, who is rated 28th in the world.
The world number seven, Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik, lost the first match 17-21 but won in the second match 21-13. The Malaysian then won the intense rubber game 21-18 earning the second point in the lead.
Meanwhile, Ng Tze Yong, a young shuttler, then stepped up into the situation to give the hosts a championship point.
Ng Tze Yong, rated 47th in the world, put on a fantastic performance as he defeated the world number 90, Ikhsan Leonardo Imanuel Rumbay in straight games.
After winning the first match 21-14, Ng Tze Yong maintained his lead in the second match before unleashing a tremendous smash to win the match 21-15 and claim Malaysia as Asia’s new king.
As the crowd cheered, the Malaysian players raced onto the court to celebrate their historic victory.
Malaysia finally got their redemption after losing 1-3 to Indonesia in the 2020 final in Manila, Philippines.
Despite losing against Malaysia, Indonesia still celebrated when their women’s team won the BATC title for the first time. In the women’s final, Indonesia triumphed 3-1 over South Korea.
Tengku Permaisuri Norashikin, the Tengku Permaisuri of Selangor, attended the prize presentation ceremony and witnessed the men’s final.
In addition, Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah and Raja Permaisuri Agong Tunku Hajah Azizah Aminah Maimunah congratulated the national men’s badminton team for winning the Asian Team Badminton Championship (BATC) 2022 ***
Source: Bernama