BANGKOK: Malaysia's proud record of winning at least one title at the Thailand Masters in the past three editions has come to an end.
This comes after Ng Tze Yong, the sole survivor in the Super 300-rated tournament, has been sent packing in the men's singles quarter-finals by Hong Kong's fourth seed Angus Ng Ka Long today.
Tze Yong was beaten 21-14, 22-20 in 43 minutes, failing to repeat his previous win against the world No 18 at the Singapore Open last year.
Nevertheless, it still marked Tze Yong's best outing in all four competitions this year.
Angus, coached by former Malaysian international Wong Tat Meng, has been a thorn in the flesh for his Malaysian rivals for the past two weeks.
Last week, he defeated Lee Zii Jia and Cheam June Wei en route to reaching the semi-finals of the Indonesia Masters.
With Tze Yong being the latest casualty, it sums up a disappointing tournament for Malaysia.
The country had enjoyed a fair share of successes since 2018 when Chan Peng Soon-Goh Liu Ying won the mixed doubles competition.
They successfully defended the title the following year while Goh V Shem-Tan Wee Kiong provided extra joy by winning the men's doubles crown.
In 2020, men's doubles Ong Yew Sin-Teo Ee Yi kept the fine run going before the tournament took a three-year break due to the Covid-19 pandemic.