Uber Cup: M'sia Lose 2-3 To Hong Kong

KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 17 (Bernama) -- The national women's squad lost 2-3 to Hong Kong in the playoff for fifth-to-eighth placings in the round-robin format of the Uber Cup Qualifying Rounds for the Asian Zone in Macau, China on Friday. Malaysia collected two points through the doubles pair of Wong Pei Tty/Chin Eei Hui when they beat the Hong Kong pair of Poon Lok Yan/Tse Ying Suet 21-16, 21-18 while Malaysia's second pair of Goh Liu Ying/Lim Yin Loo beat Chau Hoi Wah/Chan Hung Yun 21-19, 21-15 in 30 minutes. Hong Kong started their campaign by collecting their first point through their singles player Yip Pui Yin who tamed Malaysian shuttler Tee Ji Ying, 21-12 and 21-9 in 26 minutes. Hong Kong strengthened its position when Chan Tsz Ka defeated Malaysia's second singles Lydia Cheah 22-20, 18-21 and 21-17, while Mong Kwan Yi ended the match by beating Malaysia's third singles Sannatasah Saniru, 21-13 and 21-15. Malaysia should win the competition which includes Indonesia, Singapore and Hong Kong to grab the final slot to the final round of the Uber Cup to be held in Wuhan, China from May 20 to 27. The champion in the playoff will only qualify for the final round if the team's ranking is higher than the fourth team's in the qualifying rounds of the European Zone of the Uber Cup. -- BERNAMA