SHAH ALAM: As predicted, defending champions Malaysia walloped Kazakhstan 5-0 in their second Group B tie of the Badminton Asia Team Championships (BATC) on Wednesday.
The final group match against Taiwan on Thursday at the Setia City Convention Centre (SCCC) will decide who tops the group and heads into the quarter-final as a seeded team.
Taiwan, who also beat Kazakhstan (5-0) in their opening group tie on Tuesday, thrashed Brunei 5-0 in their second to be equal on points with Malaysia, who have yet to drop a game.
World No. 10 Lee Zii Jia, fresh from his recent training stint in South Korea, open the floodgates when he comfortably downed world No. 74 Dmitriy Panarin 21-11, 21-10, before former Asian junior champion Leong Jun Hao made it 2-0 with a solid 21-8, 21-11 victory over Ibray Bayken.
Debutant Eogene Ewe gave Malaysia a 3-0 lead when he saw off Makhsut Tajibullayev 21-7, 21-9 in the third singles match.
Fast rising men's doubles duo Choong Hon Jian-Haikal Nazri made it 4-0 for Malaysia when they ousted Ratmir Gilmanov-Bayken 21-10, 21-9.
Goh Sze Fei-Nur Izzuddin Rumsani completed the rout when they defeated Khaitmurat Kulmatov-Tajibullayev 21-6, 21-2 in just 17 minutes.
The top two teams from each group (men's and women's) will advance to the last eight stage, where a fresh draw will be conducted after the completion of all group matches.
Semi-finalists will automatically qualify for the Thomas and Uber Cup Finals in China in April.
DAY TWO RESULTS
Men's Group A - India bt Hong Kong 4-1
Group B - Taiwan bt Brunei 5-0; Malaysia bt Kazakhstan 5-0
Group C - Japan bt Singapore 5-0; Thailand bt Myanmar 4-1
Group D - South Korea bt Saudi Arabia 5-0; Indonesia bt UAE 5-0
Women's Group W - India bt China 3-2;
Group X - Hong Kong bt Kazakhstan 5-0
Group Y - Malaysia bt UAE 5-0
Group Z - Taiwan bt Singapore 5-0