TheStar PETALING JAYA: Malaysia are back in the elite group of the Sudirman Cup world mixed team badminton championship again after six years after beating a fancied Japanese side 3-1 in the play-off for a place in Division One at the National Gymnasium in Beijing last night. And they had to thank former Malaysian top singles player Wong Choong Hann for his part in giving Malaysia a place in the top tier in the next championship in two years' time. Choong Hann was sent out to partner Wong Pei Tty for the opening mixed doubles tie against the Japanese pair of Ikeda Shintaro-Tomomi Matsuda. National head coach Yap Kim Hock opted to save Koo Kien Keat for the crucial men's doubles tie and it paid off with Choong Hann-Pei Tty handing Malaysia the first point with a 15-7, 15-4 win. The last time Malaysia qualified for Division One in the Sudirman Cup was in 1997 when they beat Germany 3-2 in Glasgow. Choong Hann, who was only a reserve men's singles player in the team at that time, responded to the new challenge superbly with his partner Pei Tty, by racing to a 10-0 lead in the first game. They quickly wrapped up the first game 15-7 and then and went on to take victory in 33 minutes with a 15-4 win in the second game. The mixed doubles win was the turning point for the Malaysian team and an inspired Lee Chong Wei wasted no time in handing Malaysia the second point. The national number one gave no chance at all to Shoji Sato with a masterly display. Two points was all the shell-shocked Sato, the world number 16, could muster in the 2-15, 0-15 defeat. Then Wong Mew Choo came on for the third tie – the women's singles. After falling 1-11 to All-England semi-finalist Eriko Hirose, Mew Choo made an incredible comeback to force a rubber game with a 11-8 win. Mew Choo, ranked 74th, put up a gutsy display in the rubber, stretching and even retrieving the ball from impossible angles, but the world ranked 18th Japanese eventually prevailed at 11-8. However, the Malaysian celebration did not take long to come as the men's doubles pair of Kien Keat-Chan Chong Ming took over to secure the winning point. Kien Keat-Chong Ming sailed through the first game against Tadashi Ohtsuka-Keita Masuda 15-4. The Malaysians faced some resistance in the second game but managed to pull through against their experienced Japanese rivals at 15-13 to hand Malaysia the winning point. With Malaysia taking an unassailable 3-1 lead, the women's doubles tie between Chin Eei Hui-Pei Tty and Kumiko Ogura-Reiko Shiota was scrapped. A jubilant Kim Hock, who was seen clenching his fists in victory, said their mission to regain their place among the elite teams had paid off. “I was confident of our chances all along as our women's players have improved a lot. They proved it tonight. Choong Hann had the experience and I was confident he can combine well with Pei Tty.”
