Malaysia 3-0 Finland

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D  MALAYSIA 1-0 FINLAND    C3
Chan Yiwen 3-0 Maarit Ekholm   11-3, 11-2, 11-1 (33m)
Rachel Arnold 3-0 Riina Koskinen 11-6, 11-5, 11-6  (19m)
Aifa Azman 3-0 Emilia Soini 11-9, 11-4, 11-7 (27m)

Malaysia cruised in their first appearance this morning, as expected. What wasn’t expected was a time out for injury after a collision between the two players, resulting in a foot injury for Maarit Elholm. Wrongly announced as a self-inflicted injury, it was corrected later on to a contributed one. Took a bit of time to get the medical onsite, but “plus de peur que de mal”, not as bad on Maarit ankle as we originally feared, and the match was able to continue (deduct 10m from the official time).

The rest of the tie went as expected for Malaysia, but with a strong resistance from Finland Emilia Soini in particular. A happy Ajaz Azmat, the Malaysian coach, commented:

“I think the girls played very well today, as they did yesterday. I think they’re well on the way and we’re hoping to maintain this form for the next two matches and finish top of the group.

“We’re hoping to reach the quarter-finals and then we’ll take it from there.

“It’s my first time in Egypt and I love the country. I just wish I had more time to go and see what I want to see!”