Malaysia beat Singapore 3-1 in Axiata Cup

The Malaysian badminton squad recorded a win in the 2013 Axiata Cup Badminton Championship after beating the Singapore team 3-1 at the Kuala Lumpur Badminton Stadium, Cheras, here, today.

National singles chief coach Rashid Sidek regarded Malaysia's overall performance today as satisfactory although the Malaysian women's singles lost.

"The presence of Chong Wei Feng to replace Darren Liew, who was unwell, had enabled Malaysia to gain two points," he said after the matches ended tonight.

Malaysia started poorly when its women's single Sonia Cheah lost to Singapore's Gu Juan 19-21, 21-15 and 15-21.

However, 26-year-old Chong Wei Feng, who is ranked 16th in the world, succeeded in bringing cheer to the Malaysian camp when he beat Ashton Chen 21-17, 19-21 and 21-9.

The world's mixed doubles third seed Chan Peng Soon and Goh Liu Ying collected Malaysia's second point when they easily overcame world number 10 mixed pair of Danny B Chrisnanta and Vanessa Neo 21-13 and 21-11.

The Malaysian men's doubles pair of Hoon Thien How and Tan Wee Kiong ensured full points when they beat Terry Yeo and Liu Yi 21-18 and 21-14.

The Malaysian squad will face Vietnam tomorrow in the competition which offered a total prize money of US$1 million (RM3.111 million).