HORSENS (Denmark), April 30– Malaysia signed off their Group B campaign on a losing note after going down 2-3 to 2014 champions Japan in the Thomas Cup Finals 2026 at Forum Horsens here today.
With the top spot on the line, Malaysia opted for a tactical move by reshuffling their men’s doubles combinations, splitting up main pair and 2022 world champions Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik.
Aaron was reunited with Tee Kai Wun, rekindling a partnership that delivered gold at the Malaysia Games 2018 for Melaka while Wooi Yik linked up with Nur Izzuddin Rumsani, revisiting their brief pairing in Chengdu 2024.
The tie began on the wrong footing as national number one men’s singles player and world No. 25 Leong Jun Hao fall to world No. 9 Kodai Naraoka 11-21, 15-21.
Malaysia hit back through Aaron-Kai Wun, who shook off early jitters to overturn a first-game deficit to defeat world No. 25 duo Kakeru Kumagai-Hiroki Nishi 16-21, 21-14, 21-19 in a spirited response.
However, Japan’s depth in singles once again proved decisive as the world No. 19 Yushi Tanaka maintained his upper hand for four consecutive times over world No. 44 Justin Hoh, 21-15, 21-12, in 39-minutes, to put Japan back in front.
Any hopes of forcing a decider were dashed in the second doubles, as Nur Izzuddin-Wooi Yik came up short 21-14, 19-21, 19-21 against Takumi Nomura-Yuichi Shimogami, ranked 30th in the world, undone by a string of unforced errors at crucial moments.
With the tie already settled, professional player and world No. 82 Lee Zii Jia provided a late consolation, finally breaking his losing streak for three times previously against world No. 20 Koki Watanabe.
Zii Jia produced a composed performance to post a straight-set victory 21-13, 21-19 in 41-minutes.
The result not only ensured Japan checked into the last eight as Group B winner but also avenging defeats to Malaysia in the previous two editions in Bangkok 2022 and Chengdu 2024.
Malaysia had earlier edged England 3-2 and triumphed against Finland 4-1 to seal their place in the quarter-finals.
The knockout draw will be held tomorrow morning, with the Thomas Cup Finals 2026 running until May 3.
