KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 19 — Malaysia’s challenge at the 2021 World Championships fizzles out as the country’s remaining representatives in the semi-final stage, men's double pair Ong Yew Sin-Teo Ee Yi were shown the exit tonight.

The independent pair, ranked 12th in the world, was no threat to the world number four Takuro Hoki-Yugo Kobayashi in the last four stage, as the Japanese recorded a 21-13, 21-9 victory in just 32 minutes at Huelva, Spain.

Despite the loss, the 2020 Thailand Masters champions can walk tall as the world championship bronze medallists.

The Japanese pair will be hunting for the title against the winner of the semi-final match between China’s He Ji Ting-Tan Qiang and Kim Astrup-Anders Skaarup Rasmussen of Denmark, in the final on Sunday.

Yew Sin-Ee Yi cruised into the semi-finals by stunning Tokyo 2020 Olympic champions Lee Yang-Wang Chi Lin in the quarter-finals, yesterday. — Bernama