KUALA LUMPUR: The young Malaysian women's team bowed out in the semi-finals of the Badminton Asia Team Championships (BATC) today.
The team put on a courageous showing, but the lack of experience was apparent as they went down 3-0 to South Korea at the Setia City Convention Centre, Shah Alam.
The Koreans surged into the lead after Sim Yujin held off national No 1 S. Kisona 21-16, 21-17 in the first singles match.
The scratch pair of Pearly Tan and Valeree Siow were then unable to repeat their heroics from their last two matches as they went down 21-15, 21-14 to Baek Ha Na-Seong Seung Yeon.
"It was tough for us because our opponents were consistent while we made silly mistakes," admitted Pearly.
"Ha Na is also a much more experienced player having played in many world-level tournaments, so that made a difference today."
That left Malaysia looking towards 17-year-old Siti Nurshuhaini Azman to keep them alive in the second singles.
But the teen, who sparked the comeback in Malaysia's 3-2 win over Japan in the group stages, was unable to pull it off, losing 21-11, 15-21, 21-13 to Lee Se Yeon.
Despite the exit, the Malaysian women can still hold their heads high after meeting expectations by reaching the semi-finals.
It is the second straight semi-final appearance for Malaysia.
And finishing in the top four also meant that Malaysia qualified for the Uber Cup Finals in Bangkok in May.