Bac Giang: The Malaysian men’s team fell to Thailand 0-3 in the 2021 Hanoi SEA Games final at the Bac Giang Gymnasium on Wednesday.
In the first men’s singles match, the resilient World No. 18 Kunlavut Vitidsarn ultimately proved too much for the World No. 199 Kok Jing Hong to overcome, winning a relatively easy match in this final tie, 21-10, 21-15 to give Thailand a 1-0 lead.
After winning the first game 22-20, Thailand’s World No. 196 Chaloempon Charoenkitamorn/Nanthakarn Yordphaisong thwarted the comeback attempt by Malaysia’s World No. 34 Man Wei Chong/Tee Kai Wun in the second set, as they stepped up to give Thailand a 2-0 lead with a 22-20 win over the Malaysians in the first men’s doubles match.
Malaysian media revealed that Tee Kai Wun was playing with an ankle injury and Man Wei Chong was playing with a knee injury during the match.
Both Tee and Man felt bad for not being able to win a point for Malaysia.
Dua-dua injured dalam court, tapi point sengit. well done guys 💪🏼🇲🇾 #SEAGames2021 #SemarakJuara #SokongMalaysia @ASTROARENA pic.twitter.com/KjYZrmgk8n
— Syakirah Zulkifly (@SykrhZlkfly) May 18, 2022
Man Wei Chong’s left knee looked dislocated and he was rushed to the hospital after the match.
Beregu lelaki negara, Man Wei Chong terpaksa dikejarkan ke hospital ekoran mengalami kecederaan dibahagian lutut kiri selepas aksi menentang Thailand @ASTROARENA pic.twitter.com/WQEr5pKhgq
— Syakirah Zulkifly (@SykrhZlkfly) May 18, 2022
World No. 276 Lee Shun Yang who kept Malaysia’s hopes alive when he won the second men’s singles match against Jason Teh Jia Heng of Singapore on Tuesday, allowing Malaysia to ultimately stage a comeback from 0-2 down to beat Singapore 3-2 in the men’s team semi-final, couldn’t repeat the feat in the final.
Despite saving two match-point in the decider against World No. 45 Khosit Phetpradab of Thailand, at 19-20, Lee thought Phetpradab’s net return towards his right baseline would go out of bounds, but the shuttlecock landed inbound, and the Thai players quickly stormed the court to celebrate their first SEA Games badminton men’s team gold medal in 47 years.
The last time Malaysia won the SEA Games men’s team gold medal was in 2005 when Malaysia was led by Lee Chong Wei and they eventually beat Indonesia 3-2.
Earlier Wednesday, defending champions Thailand won their 5th consecutive SEA Games women’s team gold by defeating Indonesia 3-0.
