MALAYSIA’S GOLD QUEST IN DEAFYMPICS BADMINTON ENDS IN SEMI-FINALS

From Farah Najihah Zuraimi

TOKYO, Nov 21 (Bernama) -- Malaysia’s hopes of clinching a gold medal in badminton at the 2025 Deaflympics were dashed as national mixed doubles pair Edmund Teo-Boon Wei Ying fell in the semi-finals after a tense and pressure-filled match here today.

In the match at Keio Arena Tokyo, Edmund-Wei Ying, who started strongly with a 21-14 win, were unable to stop the advance of South Korea’s Shin Kyungduk-Park Min Kyeong, who took the next two games 21-16 and 21-13.

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Wei Ying said they had given their best by collecting as many points as possible whenever opportunities arose, but ultimately had to accept the bitter defeat.

“Actually, we kept trying to stay focused, especially when leading in the second game, but it was difficult to maintain the rhythm to secure the crucial points.

“We were not too pressured even though we were the country’s last remaining pair, and we only focused on collecting points to reach the final, but luck was not on our side,” she told reporters through a sign language interpreter here today.

Edmund-Wei Ying, however, still have a chance to ease their disappointment as they will compete for the bronze medal in the playoff match scheduled at 4.50 pm today (3.50 pm Malaysian time) against India’s Abhinav Sharma-Jerlin Jayaratchagan.

The Malaysian Deaf Sports Association (MSDEAF) had earlier targeted three gold medals through the women’s and mixed doubles in badminton, and the men’s team bowling event.

Yesterday, the women’s doubles pair of Wei Ying and Foo Zoo Tung, the defending champions of the Games, were defeated in the quarter-finals by unseeded Chinese duo Jiang Jialei-Zhang Heng Yan, 13-21, 8-21.

Meanwhile, the men’s team bowling event will take place this Sunday.

-- BERNAMA