KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia’s interest in the BWF World Championships mixed doubles competition ended at the quarterfinal stage when both pairs were defeated by opponents from Japan and China.
Professional mixed doubles outfit Tan Kian Meng-Lai Pei Jing lost to China’s top seeded pair Zheng Si Wei-Huang Ya Qiong 9-21, 9-21.
The other pair, Goh Soon Huat-Shevon Lai, were beaten by home favourites Yuta Watanabe-Arisa Higashino 21-17, 21-13 in straight sets at the Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium.
The country’s hopes will now rest on the shoulders of men’s doubles pair Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik, the sixth seeds in the competition, who take on India’s seventh seeds Satwiksairaj Rankireddy-Chirag Shetty in the semifinals tomorrow.
This morning, Aaron-Wooi Yik, bronze medallist at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, defeated South Korea’s Choi Sol Gyu-Seo Seung Jae, 21-18, 21-16 in the quarterfinals and moved into the semifinals.