Malaysia, seeded second, got off to a poor start at Setia City Convention Centre, as S Kisona lost 21-16 to Sim Yu-jin in the first game.

Despite enjoying a 10-6 lead in the second game, a series of unforced errors proved costly for Kisona as the world No 49 Korean mounted a comeback by taking the game 21-17 to deliver the first point for her team.

Kisona, ranked 64th in the world, admitted she could not hold her nerve, especially in the final game.

“If I were more patient and reduced the mistakes in the second game, I could have won,” she said.

In the second match, scratch pair, Valeree Siow-Pearly Tan failed to live up to expectations as they went down 21-15, 21-14 in just 36 minutes to Baek Ha-na-Seong Seung-yeon.

Knowing Malaysia had to clinch a crucial point, second singles Siti Nurshuhaini Azman failed to give a lifeline to the national team.

After losing 21-11 in the first game to Lee Se-yeon, the up-and-coming shuttler deserved a pat on her back as she managed to put up a great fight in the second by overcoming the Korean 21-15.

However, Siti Nurshuhaini ran out of gas in the decider as Se Yeon whitewashed her 21-13 to send South Korea into their second final since the tournament began in 2016.

“She was making mistakes in the second game and I capitalised but in the rubber, I lost focus and was in a hurry to kill the shuttle. I was disappointed for failing to deliver the crucial point but I’m proud to represent Malaysia at BATC,” said Siti Nurshuhaini.

South Korea will face Indonesia in the final at 10am tomorrow.

The Indonesian team was given a “free pass” to the final after opponents Japan withdrew from the last four at the eleventh hour.

As for Malaysia, it was still a successful tournament as they met the expectation of reaching the semifinal after emerging Group Y champions and qualifying for the Uber Cup in Bangkok in May.