Malaysia lost to China in the semi-finals of the Thomas Cup after singles maverick Hafiz Hashim, in the deciding match of the first semi final after the confrontation stood at 2-2, failed to stop Chen Jin from a 21-16, 21-12 victory. The Chinese's 3-2 victory meant a final clash against either host Indonesia or South Korea.

Hafiz showed dazzling technique and fluent court craft but a slew of unforced errors and baffling cross-court shots and replies gave huge points to Chen, who at one time was trailing the Kelantan-born by five points. But Chen, 22, had a reversal fo fortune when he won eight points on the trot against to the 25-year-old Malaysian, who now has lost five consecutive times to Chen.

Chen showed a dominant performance against an indifferent Hafiz who picked up pace to narrow the scores and while Hafiz showed some good moves and strokes, he fell to a slew of unforced errors to lose 21-12 in the first game against Chen.

The 25-year-old Hafiz saw his luck depleted against Chen whose delicate net flicks went in his favour to win huge points in this first game. The match was shown live on TV1 and Astro's Supersport.

Minutes after the decider ended, the Malaysian team stood to accept their bronze medals and would have a moment to rue on the lost opportunities. However, China showed that they are still a dominat force in the world badminton and are now favourties to win the title for the third time in a row.
The game had went to the wire at 2-2 after the crack Malaysian pair of Zakry Latif-Fairuzizuan Tazari beat Xie Zhongbo-Guo Zhendong in straight sets of 21-17, 21-15.

Malaysia drew first blood after Lee Chong Wei stunned Lin Dan in straight sets of 21-12, 21-14, but lost the momentum, after Koo Kien Keat-Tan Boon Heong failed to live up to expectations and lost to the pair of Cai Yun-Fu Haifeng.

Wong Choon Han collapsed under the Bao Chunlai in a tame 18-21, 7-21 but Zakry and Fairuzizuan pulled Malaysia from the brink with a famous victory over Xie and Guo.

However, with Hafiz playing, nobody really knew which way the match would go and with odds stack against him, he couldn't overcome the pressure and went down in two.


How the matches were scored:
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1. LEE CHONG WEI beat LIN DAN 21-12, 21-14 (36 minutes)
1st game: 7-0, 8-4, 12-5, 18-8, 19-12, 21-12.
2nd game: 1-3, 2-6, 6-6, 6-8, 10-8, 10-11, 16-12, 17-14, 21-14.

2. KOO KIEN KEAT-TAN BOON HEONG lost to CAI YUN-FU HAIFENG 16-21, 17-21 (39 minutes)
1st game: 1-5, 5-7, 8-11, 11-17, 15-19, 16-21.
2nd game: 0-2, 4-2, 5-5, 8-8, 11-8, 12-14, 16-15, 17-21.

3. WONG CHOONG HANN lost to BAO CHUNLAI 18-21, 7-21 (39 minutes)
1st game: 2-5, 7-5, 7-12, 14-15, 16-20, 18-21.
2nd game: 2-0, 4-2, 5-4, 5-13, 7-14, 7-21.

4. ZAKRY LATIF-FAIRUZIZUAN TAZARI beat XIE ZHONGBO-GUO ZHENDONG 21-17, 21-15 (45 minutes)
1st game: 4-1, 6-4, 9-11, 14-11, 17-16, 21-17.
2nd game: 4-0, 8-2, 12-4, 15-7, 17-12, 20-13, 21-15

5. HAFIZ HASHIM lost to CHEN JIN 12-21, 16-21 (42 minutes)
1st game: 3-1, 3-4, 5-4, 6-5, 7-6, 8-7, 9-13, 11-13, 12-21.
2nd game: 0-2, 4-2, 4-7, 11-7, 11-10, 13-10, 13-18, 16-19, 16-21