Malaysia’s sole point came courtesy of singles shuttler Wong Ling Ching, who needed 65 minutes to overcome Pornpicha Choeikeewong 21-19, 15-21, 21-16.

National ace Goh Jin Wei, fielded at first singles, fell 13-21, 24-26 to Supanida Katethong before Pearly Tan and M Thinaah let slip a superb start to go down 22-20, 15-21, 19-21 to world No 10 Jongkolphan Kititharakul and Rawinda Prajongjai.

Busanan Ongbamrungphan, the 2022 India Open women’s singles champion, then rose to the occasion to dispose of K Letshanaa 21-17, 21-18 before Benyapa Aimsaard and Nuntakarn Aimsaard took just 38 minutes to tame Tan Zhing Yi and Teoh Mei Xing 21-17, 21-18.

Meanwhile, Ling Ching told reporters that her two previous wins over Pornpicha boosted her confidence and she could do her best in front of the home fans.

“My game today was okay but I have much more to improve on as I still made too many mistakes. But I have played against her (Pornpicha) before, so I was confident in myself.”

“…I also had faith in my teammates, who gave their best. It’s just that sometimes you win, sometimes you lose,” she said.

The 21-year-old Ling Ching’s two previous wins over Pornpicha came in the 2023 Kaohsiung Masters and 2023 Mongolia International Challenge.

Malaysia confirmed their place in tomorrow’s last eight after trouncing the United Arab Emirates 4-0 yesterday. The draw for the quarterfinals will be held once all the group matches are concluded later today.