Malaysia’s national women’s team were brought back down to earth after suffering a 4–1 defeat to hosts China in their Group W tie at the Badminton Asia Team Championships (BATC) in Qingdao on Wednesday.
Coming off career-best World Tour results over the past two weeks, world No. 37 K. Letshanaa and world No. 41 Wong Ling Ching were unable to deliver a point, despite China fielding a largely second-string line-up.
Indonesia Masters semi-finalist Letshanaa was unable to give Malaysia an ideal start in the opening singles, going down 21-18, 21-10 to world No. 38 Han Qian Xi. The loss extended Letshanaa’s difficult record against the Chinese shuttler, having now lost all five of their meetings since 2019.
In the opening doubles, world No. 25 Ong Xin Yee–Carmen Ting were outclassed by world No. 4 Zhang Shu Xian–Jia Yi Fan, falling 21-10, 21-8 — a stark contrast to the three-game battle they mounted against the same pair at last year’s Malaysia Masters.
Ling Ching, fresh from a semi-final appearance at the Thailand Masters, was expected to at least secure a point for Malaysia but suffered a heavy 21-14, 21-7 defeat to world No. 127 Xu Wen Jing.
Malaysia’s only point came through a surprise win by last-minute inclusions Low Zi Yu–Nur Aqilah Maisarah Ramdan, who stunned world No. 72 Luo Yi–Wang Ting Ge 13-21, 21-18, 21-17. Ranked world No. 288, Zi Yu–Nur Aqilah were playing just their third tournament together after being drafted in following an injury to Tan Zhing Yi, who usually partners Cheng Su Hui.
However, the upset did not spark a comeback, as world No. 159 Oo Shan Zi was comprehensively beaten 21-11, 21-11 by world No. 275 Yuan An Qi in the third singles.
Malaysia had already secured a quarter-final spot before the tie, with Group W consisting of only two teams. Letshanaa and her teammates will now await their quarter-final opponents following a fresh draw at the end of the group stage.
The national side is targeting a return to the top four — having reached the semi-finals in 2020 and 2022 — which would guarantee automatic qualification to the Uber Cup Finals.
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