Malaysia’s women’s badminton team saw their campaign at the Badminton Asia Team Championships come to an end after a comprehensive 3-0 loss to South Korea in the quarter-finals in Qingdao, China.
The defeat denied Malaysia automatic qualification to the Uber Cup Finals in Horsens, Denmark, for the second consecutive edition. However, with the team currently ranked seventh in the world, they remain well placed to qualify through the global team standings and are expected to secure one of the remaining spots in the 16-team tournament.
The tie began with a difficult opening match for Malaysia, as world No. 37 K. Letshanaa faced top-ranked An Se Young. The reigning Olympic champion proved too strong, winning 21-11, 21-11 and extending her unbeaten run to 32 matches. It was Letshanaa’s third straight loss in straight games to An, once again highlighting the gap between Malaysia’s leading players and the world’s elite.
South Korea then strengthened their position in the opening doubles match, where Baek Ha Na and Kim Hye Jeong defeated world No. 25 pair Carmen Ting and Ong Xin Yee 21-13, 21-9. The result underlined Korea’s depth in women’s doubles, with both players also part of top-five-ranked partnerships on the world tour. Carmen and Xin Yee, who stepped in for the absent Pearly Tan and M. Thinaah, gained valuable experience ahead of future major events.
Any hopes of a comeback were ended in the second singles, where world No. 41 Wong Ling Ching lost 21-16, 21-12 to world No. 70 Park Ga Eun. The match had been seen as Malaysia’s best opportunity to claim a point, making the result particularly disappointing. Wong had recently reached the Thailand Masters semi-finals and is expected to play an important role in the Uber Cup.
With South Korea securing an unassailable lead, the remaining matches were not played. This limited Malaysia’s chances to gain further match exposure, especially for young players such as Low Zi Yu and Noraqilah Maisarah Ramdan, who had impressed earlier in the group stage.
Despite missing out on direct qualification, Malaysia are likely to reach the Uber Cup Finals through their world ranking. The tournament in Qingdao has provided valuable lessons, highlighting areas that require further development as the team prepares to compete against the sport’s leading nations in May.
