Pathum thani: Malaysia came agonisingly close to ending their eight-year wait for a place in the women's team badminton final after losing 2-3 to Indonesia in the semi-finals of the SEA Games Thailand 2025 at Thammasat University Rangsit Campus today.
According to BERNAMA News Agency, Indonesia's world number 76, Mutiara Ayu Puspitasari, delivered the winning point in the fifth and decisive match, defeating Malaysia's Siti Zulaikha Muhammad Azmi 21-18, 21-16 at Gymnasium 4. National women's singles head coach Iskandar Zulkarnain noted that Siti Zulaikha, ranked 91st worldwide, struggled to maintain focus and power after the interval in the second game despite making a promising start.
The match began unfavorably for Malaysia when first singles player K. Letshanaa was outclassed by Putri Kusuma Wardani, who won convincingly 21-9, 21-10 in just 34 minutes. However, Malaysia managed to draw level through their world number two women's doubles pair, Pearly Tan and M. Thinaah, who narrowly edged out world number 58 duo Rachel Allessya Rose and Febi Setianingrum with scores of 21-14, 17-21, 21-16.
Malaysia's momentum continued as their second singles player, world number 44 Wong Ling Ching, pulled off a major upset by defeating world number 10 Gregoria Mariska Tunjung with scores of 22-20, 15-21, 21-16 in a thrilling 66-minute duel. Ling Ching, who had been suffering from the flu, expressed surprise at her unexpected victory against such a skillful and experienced opponent.
Despite Malaysia's valiant efforts, Indonesia forced the match into a decider as their world number 59 pair, Febriana Dwipuji Kusuma and Meilysa Trias Puspitasari, overwhelmed the scratch combination of Go Pei Kee and Toh Ee Wei with a dominant 21-10, 21-9 victory. Mutiara's decisive performance then secured the tie for Indonesia.
As a result, Indonesia will advance to face defending champions Thailand in the final for the fourth consecutive edition after the hosts defeated Singapore 3-0 in the other semi-final. With today's results, Malaysia shares the bronze medal with Singapore in the women's team event.