SUZHOU, China, May 17 (Xinhua) -- Malaysia eased past Chinese Taipei 4-1 on Wednesday in the third round of the group stage to top the "Group of Death" at the Sudirman Cup.
Group C, featuring Malaysia, Chinese Taipei and India, was widely seen as the hardest-fought group. India had crashed out of the tournament with two straight losses, while Malaysia and Chinese Taipei were vying for first place.
Malaysia's mixed doubles pair Chen Tang Jie and Toh Ee Wei rallied past from one set down to beat Ye Hong-wei and Lee Chia-hsin 17-21, 21-19 and 21-17 in 67 minutes, before 2021 world champion Lee Zii Jia made it 2-0 by defeating Chou Tien-chen 21-14, 23-21.
"I'm very happy with my performance, and I handled the pressure very well," said Lee. "It was all about patience because we've played each other many times and we know each other's game."
"The feeling was very good, and I was a bit lucky as well. Surprised with some of my shots, it's been a long time. It's an important point for Malaysia, and I'm proud of myself," he added.
Women's singles world No.3 Tai Tzu-ying pulled one back for Chinese Taipei with a comfortable win against Goh Jin Wei in straight sets, but Ong Yew Sin and Teo Ee Yi hammered Lu Ching-yao and Yang Po-han 21-8, 23-21 in men's doubles to seal the victory for Malaysia.
Tan Pearly and Thinaah Muralitharan of Malaysia wrapped up their contest after beating Hsu Ya-ching and Teng Chun-hsun 21-15, 19-21 and 21-15 in a 71-minute thriller.
Elsewhere, India thrashed Australia 4-1 to take their first win of the group stage but were still eliminated from the tournament. Also on Wednesday, South Korea eased to a 5-0 over Japan to top Group D, and both teams advanced to the quarterfinals, while France also whitewashed England. ■
