PHNOM PENH, May 11 — Eighteen years and counting... yet there seem to be no light at the end of the tunnel.

National shuttlers once again failed to bring home a gold medal after losing 1-3 to bitter rivals, Indonesia and had to settle for the silver in the men’s team final at the 2023 Cambodia SEA Games, here today.

First singles player Leong Jun Hao, ranked 64th in the world, got the ball rolling for Malaysia as he took just 31 minutes to pull off an upset over world number 19 Chico Aura Dwi Wardoyo, winning 21-16, 21-13 at the Morodok Techo Badminton Hall.

However, the defeat in the opening game did not even break the spirit of the Indonesians who staged a spirited comeback in the next three games.

The 2022 All England men’s doubles champion, Muhammad Shohibul Fikri-Bagas Maulana inspired Indonesia’s comeback as they got past national men’s top pair Beh Chun Meng-Goh Boon Zhe, 21-12, 22-20, to level the score at 1-1.

Christian Adinata then gave Indonesia the lead for the first time in the contest as he outclassed Malaysia’s second singles player Lee Shun Yang 21-17, 21-9.

Despite taking the first set of the fourth match, 21-13, national second men’s doubles pair Chia Weijie-Liew Xun then crumbled in the final two sets against Pramudya Kusumuwardana-Yeremia Erich Yoche Rambitan 16-21, 16-21 as the Indonesians sealed the gold medal point in a 50-minute battle.

While Indonesian shuttlers mobbed the court to celebrate their 18th gold medal in the event throughout their participation in the SEA Games, the Malaysian pair looked down on the court, wondering what else that they needed to do to end the gold medal drought.

When met after the match, Weijie admitted that they had tried their best to salvage Malaysia’s hopes and drag the game into a decider but to no avail.

He said Pramudya-Yeremia were clearly better than them especially in handling pressure on the court.

"I think they are more experienced than us and I admit that our opponents played better than us today,” he told reporters.

In the meantime, Weijie vowed to comeback stronger and believed they can give a close fight against Pramudya-Yeremia should they lock horns again in the individual event, here. — Bernama