KUALA LUMPUR: The campaign of two national mixed doubles pairs in the 2023 China Open fizzled out in the semifinals after falling to their respective opponents.
The match at the Olympic Sports Centre Gymnasium in Changzhou saw Chen Tang Jie-Toh Ee Wei going down 16-21 to French pair Thom Gicquel-Delphine Delrue in the first set.
Despite an aggressive attempt by the Taiwan Open 2023 champions to drag the game to a rubber set after being tied at 7-7, the Malaysians lost 13-21 to the French players in the second set.
Also facing the same fate were Tan Kian Meng and Lai Pei Jing, who were shown the exit by Seo Seung-jae and Chae Yoo-jung of South Korea in the 19-21, 11-21 battle which lasted 34 minutes.