SHAH ALAM: The Malaysian men's team managed to escape with a narrow 3-2 win over a second-string Japanese side to top Group B and qualify for the semi-finals of the Badminton Asia Team Championships (BATC) 2022 today.

In the men's semi-finals tomorrow, 2020 runners-up Malaysia have been drawn against South Korea while reigning champions Indonesia have been pitted against Singapore.

In the women's semi-finals, Malaysia face a tough test as they will be up against reigning runners-up South Korea while champions Japan will take on Indonesia.

All four semi-finalists have also qualified automatically for the Thomas and Uber Cup Finals to be held in Bangkok, Thailand in May.

In today's Group B clash, Japan, despite featuring young and mostly unranked shuttlers, still managed to give a top-notch Malaysian side a run for their money at the Setia City Convention Centre here.

National number one and world number seven Lee Zii Jia got off to a nervy start, stumbling to a 15-21 first-game loss to world number 343 Riku Hanato in the opening singles.

Fortunately, Zii Jia managed to regain his composure and bounce back to beat the 20-year-old Japanese 21-6, 21-15 after a tense 56-minute battle.

Commenting on his performance, Zii Jia blamed his first-game setback on unforced errors and the strong draught, which made it difficult to control the shuttle.

"In the second game, it was easier for me to control (the shuttle) and the difference in the scoreline was also huge. In the decider, my plan was to stay close until we reached 11 points, and once we changed ends, I was confident of winning.

"Hanato's playing style is almost similar to Kento Momota's... difficult to play (against). This is not my best performance but I am satisfied with how I managed to handle the pressure...," he said.

There was no such luck for Tokyo Olympics men's doubles bronze medallist Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik, who suffered an embarrassing 21-23, 16-21 loss to world number 857 Ayato Endo-Yuta Takei.

The world number seven pair looked set to win the first game when they led 20-14 before they somehow lost their focus - and the big lead - as the Japanese pair, both aged 21, staged a magnificent fightback.

For Ayato-Yuta, their only Badminton World Federation (BWF) outing was a first-round exit at the Akita Masters in Aug 2019 before the pandemic halted their tournament travels.

"We did not underestimate them because we know that Japan are a strong side regardless of whether they send their A or B team. After winning the first game, they suddenly had more confidence and speed... we faced extra pressure," said Aaron.

From being 1-0 up, Malaysia then found themselves trailing 2-1 when second singles shuttler Aidil Sholeh Ali Sadikin lost 21-19, 16-21, 15-21 to Koo Takahashi in an exacting one hour and 16-minute clash.

It was then left to second doubles pair Goh Sze Fei-Nur Izzuddin Mohd Rumsani to drag Malaysia back into contention, but not before a mighty scare in the first game.

Sze Fei-Nur Izzuddin deserve credit for bouncing back from a first-game loss to edge Shuntaro Mezaki-Haruya Nishida 17-21, 21-17, 21-17, and level the scores at 2-2, thus setting the stage for an exciting climax.

And world number 126 Leong Jun Hao did not disappoint as he turned saviour for Malaysia when he overcame Koshiro Moriguchi 21-18, 21-16 to earn the winning point.

Malaysia began their campaign on Wednesday by thrashing Singapore, who are led by world champion Loh Kean Yew, and minnows Kazakhstan yesterday by identical 5-0 margins to confirm a spot in the BATC semi-finals.

Malaysia topped Group B with 3 points after winning all three group fixtures while Singapore finished second after edging Japan 3-2 yesterday and hammering Kazakhstan 5-0 today.

-- BERNAMA