Defending champion Malaysia lived up to its top billing by retaining the badminton mixed team gold in the Glasgow Commonwealth Games by beating England 3-1 in the final at the Emirates Arena.

Malaysia who started the final as the favourite were however, given a rude shock when England won the first mixed doubles match through Gabrielle Adcock/Chris Adcock after beating Chan Peng Soon/Lai Pei Jing 21-14, 28-26.

Chong Wei Feng who was given the task to step into the shoes of injured Datuk Lee Chong Wei lived up to expectations to level the tie at 1-1 after an epic battle with Rajiv Ouseph in the men's singles before winning 21-17, 19-21, 21-19.

Malaysia took a tight control of the proceedings from that moment onwards when men's doubles pair Goh V Shem/Tan Wee Kiong stepped onto the court and made it 2-1 by defeating Chris Adcock/Ellis Andrew 21-19, 21-17 in straight sets.

Riding on the confidence of her male counterparts, Tee Jing Yi pulled off a spectacular 21-16, 21-17 straight sets victory over Sarah Walker to clinch the winning point for the country.

The gold won by the badminton squad today was the third in the Glasgow Commonwealth Games after weightlifter Mohd Hafifi Mansor (men's 69kg category) and Datuk Nicol David (women's individual) had made their contributions.

Wei Feng when met after the match said despite winning, he was not happy with his performance since the match was riddled with numerous mistakes and unforced errors.

"I knew winning the men's singles match was very important to retain the gold, especially after the unexpected loss by the mixed doubles pair," he said.

Meanwhile, one half of the men's doubles pair, V Shem said Wei Feng's victory provided all the inspiration and confidence for him and his partner when facing the English pair.