KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia gear up for the semi-finals of the Asian Team Squash Championships in Cheongju, South Korea, on a high after ending the preliminary stages with victories today.
The national men's team recovered from yesterday's 2-1 loss to third seeds Hong Kong by blanking Singapore 3-0 in Pool B.
In a 2-3-1 order of play, Syafiq Kamal went up first instead of Addeen Idrakie, and he got the job done by beating Marcus Phua 11-3, 11-2, 12-10.
Malaysia Games champion Ong Sai Hung then took out Timothy Leong 11-7, 11-8, 11-4 to seal the win.
National No. 1 Ng Eain Yow maintained his perfect record in the competition by beating Samuel Kang 11-7, 11-7, 11-2 in the third tie.
Pool B runners-up Malaysia will face top seeds India in the semi-finals while Hong Kong will face Kuwait.
In the women's competition, the Malaysian team won their third straight match by beating Taiwan 3-0.
Chan Yiwen got the ball rolling by outplaying Wang Yuan 11-1, 11-2, 11-2 before Yee Xin Ying thumped Chen Pin Yu 11-2, 11-2, 11-1 to clinch the tie. Aifa Azman completed the rout by beating Lee Yi Hsuan 11-3, 11-3, 11-2.
Defending champions Malaysia finished as Pool A winners and will meet India in the semi-finals while South Korea take on India.