Chengdu: The battle for the Group D champion in the 2024 Thomas Cup competition in Chengdu, China belongs to Denmark after securing a 3-2 victory over Malaysia in a thrilling tie.
Denmark, who previously claimed the title in the 29th edition held in Kunshan, China in 2016, secured their first points through their first singles player, Viktor Axelsen, who defeated Lee Zii Jia 21-16, 24-22.
Highlights of Denmark vs. Malaysia in the 2024 Thomas Cup Finals:
However, the Malaysian team equalized 1-1 through Aaron Chia/Soh Wooi Yik, who rallied to defeat Kim Astrup/Anders Skaarup Rasmussen 17-21, 21-17, 21-16 in one hour and three minutes.
“Today we played quite well, and we saw a slight improvement, especially in our emotions after losing the first set. So as senior players, we tried to calm ourselves and focus on seeking victory,” said Chia.
Denmark took the lead again through their second singles player, Anders Antonsen, who easily defeated Leong Jun Hao 21-14, 21-10 in 41 minutes.
The Malaysian team then fought back when the pair of Goh Sze Fei/Nur Izzuddin equalized to 2-2 after defeating Rasmus Kjaer-Frederik Sogaard 23-21, 22-20 in 50 minutes.
The country’s third singles player, Justin Hoh, who competed in the deciding match, managed to put up a strong fight against his opponent, who was ranked 26th in the world, Rasmus Gemke, dragging the match to a deciding set.
Gemke claimed victory with a 21-13 win over Justin in the first set, but the 20-year-old Malaysian representative remained calm to secure a 21-19 win in the second set before eventually conceding defeat in the third set, 13-21.
Ahead of the quarterfinals, Malaysia, emerging as the runner-up in Group D, will face the champions of either Group A, B, or C based on Wednesday’s draw.
