Malaysia claims men's badminton team title at 23rd SEA Games

Malaysia claimed men's badminton team title Wednesday night at the 23rd Southeast Asia Games (SEAG) by defeating Indonesia 3-2.

In the first match of the final, Indonesia's most well-known shuttler Taufik Hidayat took on Lee Chong Wei, Malaysia's single number one. Taufik started the first set brightly with a 9-4 but suffered strong resist from Lee. Lee took a streak of seven points with a favorable 11-9. Both of them showed excellent all-round display thereafter and exchanged lead many times. Finally Taufik took the set 15-13.

In the second set, Taufik took the upper hand throughout the game and finished the set 15-7 in just 15 minutes.

In the second match of the final, Indonesia's Alvent Yulianto Chandra/Luluk Hadyanto encountered Chan Chong Ming/Khoo Kien Keat. They lagged behind in the beginning at 2-4 but finally won out the first set 15-4 with impressive fightback. They secured victory 15-9 in the second set.

Malaysia's players took an easy victory in the third and fouth matches of the final with a double 2-0. In the decisive fifth, Malaysia's single number three Wong Choong Hann took his first set without a hitch but suffered a bitter start 2-5 in the second set. He adjusted the rhythm of the match and took a streak of nine points by powerful smashes. He finally secured the win 15-7.

In the meantime, Thailand took the women's team crown by trailing Singapore 3-2.

Source: Xinhua