PHNOM PENH, May 11 — Malaysia missed the chance to make history in the women's team table tennis event at the 2023 SEA Games when the paddlers lost in the final to defending champions Thailand 0 - 3 at the Morodok Table Tennis Hall earlier today.
However, praise should be given to the national squad lined up by Karen Lyne, Alice Chang and Tee Ai Xin who pulled off a surprise when they managed to reach the final after 30 years in the event at this Games.
The last time the Malaysian women's team managed to qualify for the final was in the 1993 edition in Singapore, where they won the silver medal.
Malaysia has never won gold in the event in the history of the SEA Games.
In today's competition, Karen who went down as the first player lost to Suthasini Sawettabut 5 - 11, 9 - 11, 9 - 11.
One down, Alice Chang's spirited performance was not enough to equalise the situation when she lost to Orawan Paranang, the winner of the women's singles gold medal at the last edition in Hanoi, Vietnam, 11 - 5, 6 - 11, 6 - 11, 11 - 8, 9 - 11.
Tee's attempt to drag the final to the next match also failed when she lost to Jinnipa Sawattabut 2 - 11, 8 - 11, 7 - 11.
Winning the silver medal, however, was an improvement in the performance in Hanoi when the national squad returned with bronze.
Meanwhile, national squad head coach Beh Lee Wei praised her charges for displaying a performance to be proud of despite failing to bring home the gold medal.
She admitted that the national players were performing under pressure because it was the first time they were competing in the final of the biennial games.
"Our target at this Games was the bronze medal and the achievement of winning silver is a surprise. So, I told them, we have reached this point and they need to go all out," she said.
At the same time, she hopes that their good performance can continue in upcoming tournaments.
"Actually, the victory over Singapore (3 - 0) in the group stage raised the spirits of the players and I believe it is the beginning of better results in the future," said Beh, who hoped the national players could produce positive results in the singles and doubles events after this.
— Bernama
