KUALA LUMPUR: World No. 4 Man Wei Chong-Tee Kai Wun endured a losing debut in Group A of the BWF World Tour Finals after going down to newly-crowned SEA Games champions Sabar Karyaman Gutama-Moh Reza Pahlevi Isfahani in Hangzhou on Wednesday.
The Malaysians fought hard but fell 23-21, 21-19, with the Indonesians holding their nerve in the closing stages of both games.
Wei Chong-Kai Wun had a chance to force a decider after leading 19-17 in the second game, but were unable to capitalise as Sabar-Reza closed out the match.
Kai Wun said adapting to the playing conditions proved challenging.
“The shuttle was quite difficult to read. Sometimes it was slow, sometimes very fast, and it could spin suddenly. The first three shots were really quick, so it took time for us to adjust,” said Kai Wun.
Wei Chong admitted that expectations may have weighed on their performance in their first World Tour Finals appearance.
“This is our first Finals and we really wanted to perform well. Maybe the expectations I put on myself were a bit too high, and our performance wasn’t consistent,” said Wei Chong.
“We played well in the early part of the second game, but towards the end we lost focus slightly.”
Despite the setback, Kai Wun stressed that the pair remain optimistic heading into their remaining group matches.
“This was a good fight for us. It’s still the group stage and every match matters. We still have a chance, so we will give our best in the next match,” he said.
The defeat extended the Malaysians’ struggles against the Indonesian pair, with Wei Chong-Kai Wun now losing five of their six meetings, including last week’s semi-final clash at the Thailand SEA Games.
Group A also features world No. 1 Kim Won Ho-Seo Seung Jae of South Korea and Taiwan’s Chiu Hsiang Chieh-Wang Chi Lin.
© New Straits Times Press (M) Bhd
