Uber Cup: Unforgettable Run For Letshanaa, Xin Yee-Carmen Proud of Pushing World No. 1 Pair

From Amiril Muttaqien Meketar

HORSENS (Denmark), April 30 (Bernama) -- Scorelines may say defeat but national number one women’s singles player K. Letshanaa walked away from the Uber Cup Finals 2026 with something far more telling, which is belief.

Letshanaa previously pushed defending world champion from Japan Akane Yamaguchi to 19-21, 17-21 in the Group B stage last Monday before testing China’s world No. 2 Wang Zhiyi  17-21, 18-21 in the quarter-final, today.

Malaysia went down 2-3 to Japan in final Group B tie and exited the tournament after losing 0-3 to defending champions China in the last eight.

Despite the back-to-back losses, the world No. 33 described the experience as unforgettable, having gone toe-to-toe with the world’s top shuttlers during the prestigious badminton team event in Forum Horsens, here.

“These two games I gained lots of learning…the experience that I got is very good and I won't forget this experience because this is my first time fighting very close to top players.

“I think this is a starting point for me to grow up in the future,” she said in the post match interview.

The 22-year-old also pointed out to the fine margins at the highest level, particularly the need for greater consistency moving forward.

“I think I need to be a bit more consistent when I play with top players and also try to reduce more unforced errors… top players, I see the make very few unforced errors really,” she said.

In the meantime, national young women’s doubles pair and debutants Ong Xin Yee-Carmen Ting were proud that they managed to stretch world No. 1 Liu Sheng Shu-Tan Ning, in their first ever meeting.

The world No. 22 pair displayed resilience and solid defence to force a decider but eventually fell 14-21, 21-16, 13-21 after a gruelling 79-minute battle in the second game against China.

The 19-year-old Xin Yee said they had given their all, but inconsistency denied them a chance to upset the reigning world champions.

"We are not satisfied that we could not contribute a single point for Malaysia. We tried our best by applying pressure and not giving them an easy path to win against us," she said.

 China sealed the semi-final spot in the third match as world No. 4 Chen Yu Fei proved too strong for world No. 37 Wong Ling Ching, winning 21-10, 21-10 in 36 minutes.

Despite the defeat, Malaysia can take pride in reaching the quarter-finals for only the fourth time, matching their best-ever achievement in the competition after previous appearances in 2004, 2008 and 2010.

The national team had opened their Group B campaign with a 3-2 win over Turkiye before thrashing South Africa 5-0 to confirm their place in the last eight.

They finished as Group B runners-up following a 4-1 loss to six-time champions Japan.

The Uber Cup Finals 2026, which began on April 24, runs until May 3.

-- BERNAMA