KUALA LUMPUR: A bout of flu has dashed Tan Cheong Min's hopes of defending her crown at the World Wushu Championships.
Cheong Min, who didn't feel well on Friday amid the winter in Fort Worth, Texas, could only finish seventh in the Nandao event with 8.886 points.
China's Wu Jianing was first with 9.806, Vietnam's Nhi Dang Tran (9.743) was second and American Lucy Lee (9.730) was third.
The Hangzhou Asian Games silver medallist is now in a race against time to recover for the Nangun, Nanquan and Duilian events.
However, Malaysia did not finish empty-handed as Clement Ting and Sydney Chin delivered silver medals in the Daoshu and Taijiquan respectively.
Coach Koo Chee Zhong said: "Cheong Min really wanted to defend her title but it was not meant to be and she's very upset and angry with herself for catching the cold.
"She made mistakes during her performance because she was not in her best condition."
Chee Zhong said Clement and Sydney managed to overcome pressure to finish on the podium.
In women's Taijiquan, Sydney emerged second with 9.776. China's Dai Dan Dan (9.826) won gold and Singapore's Vera Yan (9.770) picked up the bronze,
Clement shared the silver medal with Singapore's Jowen Lim after both of them recorded 9.750 points each. China's Liu Zhaohe won the gold with 9.823.
"There was pressure on Clement and Sydney to deliver, but they managed to overcome it," added Chee Zhong.