CHENGDU: It comes as no surprise as Malaysia once again exited early from the Uber Cup following a 0-5 drubbing by 2018 runner-up, Thailand, in their second Group B fixture at the Chengdu High-Tech Zone Sports Centre, here today.
In today’s match, Malaysia fielded second singles K. Letshanaa (pix) as the main singles player, replacing Goh Jin Wei after the former two-time world junior champion was rested while Siti Nurshuhaini Azman was called on to play as the third singles.
After a courageous display in the first set, Letshanaa experienced a dip in form and suffered a straight sets loss to Supanida Katethong, 17-21, 6-21, that put Thailand ahead after the first match.
Letshanaa, ranked 68th, said she could not keep up with the world number 16 opponent in the vast majority of second set.
“In the second set, Supanida changed her game and that is why I could not control and produced shots that I intend to which had affected my confidence level,” she told reporters at the mixed zone.
Thailand went 2-0 up when the country’s main women’s doubles led by team captain Teoh Mei Xing and Go Pei Kee, succumbed to world number 10 pair Jongkolphan Kititharakul-Rawinda Projingai, 10-21, 14-21, in 33-minutes.
Mei Xing was disappointed on their failure to earn a point for Malaysia after giving their all against the Thais and lost for the first time here.
Yesterday, the scratch duo contributed Malaysia’s only point in the 1-4 loss to Taiwan, following an upset over Hsu Ya Ching-Lin Wan Ching 21-19, 21-17, in the Group B opener yesterday.
World number 18, Pornpawee Chochuwong dashed any hope of a Malaysian comeback as she rose to the occasion to secure the third point for her country after dispatching Wong Ling Ching, 21-11, 21-15 in straight games.
Thailand continued their dominance when Laksika Kanlaha-Phataimas Muenwong took just 29-minutes to see off Chan Wen Tse-Tan Zhing Yi, 21-12, 21-8 while Busanan Ongbamrungphan concluded a fine day for them as she outclassed Siti Nurshuhaini Azman 21-5, 21-8.
Though a series of mistakes during the game took a toll on her performance, Siti Nurshuhaini viewed the painful loss as an opportunity to improve her gameplay.
The big win over Malaysia meant Thailand, who opened their campaign with a 5-0 win against Australia yesterday, made the cut to the quarterfinals.
Taiwan will join Thailand to the last eight as they triumphed 4-1 over Australia earlier today.
Malaysia, who last appeared in the last eight 14 years ago, are slated to end their campaign against Australia while Thailand will determine the group champions against Taiwan, this Wednesday.
Uber Cup 2024 will run until May 5.
