Malaysia knock out Japan

Malaysia and the Netherlands won easy playoff victories to reach the quarter-finals of the women8217;s Uber Cup badminton...

Malaysia and the Netherlands won easy playoff victories to reach the quarter-finals of the women8217;s Uber Cup badminton championships on Tuesday, while Thailand and Japan progressed in the men8217;s Thomas Cup competition.

Julia Wong Pei Xian led the Malaysians to a quarter-final clash with group leader South Korea in a grueling singles match that ended 21-15, 10-21, 21-19.

World No. 10 Wong Mew Choo outclassed unheralded Japanese Eriko Hirose, and Lim Pek Siah combined with Wong Pei Tty to upset Satoko Suetsuna and Miyuki Maeda in the doubles. The Dutch blanked New Zealand 3-0 in the other Uber Cup match.

In the men8217;s competition, Thailand progressed over New Zealand 3-0, while Japan beat Germany 3-2. Two other playoff games in both competitions were to be played later Tuesday.

Rules to be reassessed

Badminton chiefs will consider a new format for the Thomas and Uber Cups after South Korea shamelessly threw two group matches in order to secure an easier passage later in the men8217;s tournament. The Koreans fielded weakened teams for their Thomas Cup group matches, pitching singles players into doubles games and playing doubles specialists in singles.

On Monday, they first lost 4-1 to England, and then to Malaysia by the same margin.

The tactical ploy left them bottom of Group B and, under the structure of the international team event, they now face an easy play-off against Canada on Tuesday to clinch a quarter-final place against Denmark.

Story continues below this ad

South Korean team manager Kim Jong-soo freely acknowledged the ploy, telling the Chinese Xinhua news agency: 8220;Since the beginning, our strategy has always been to face Denmark in the quarter-finals, Indonesia in the semis and China in the final. We prefer to face Denmark in the quarter-finals because we are confident we can beat them.8221;

The Badminton World Federation responded by saying it would look at the possibility of introducing a new format to prevent teams throwing matches. 8220;I don8217;t blame South Korea for fielding a weaker team for their group matches. Any strong team will do it if they have a chance,8221; BWF deputy president Datuk Punch Gunalan said.

8220;We introduced the current format8230; to give a chance for smaller nations to play in the event. However, with the latest development, we now need to sit and talk about changing the format,8221; he told a website.

8220;They had not broken any rule. To BWF, they have applied the right strategy by taking an easier route.8221;