KUALA LUMPUR: Japanese shuttlers have been getting the better of their Malaysian men's counterparts, even in the lower tier tournaments.
Justin Hoh's hopes of reaching his first final of the year were dashed after being knocked out of the Estonian International by Japan's back-up player Yushi Tanaka today.
Justin lost 20-22, 21-19, 21-10 in their semi-final match. The encounter was a showdown between the two best young players from Malaysia and Japan.
The 18-year-old's defeat came just days after Kodai Naraoka ousted Malaysia's top men's singles duo - Lee Zii Jia and Ng Tze Yong - en route to reaching the Petronas Malaysia Open final.
World No 87 Tanaka reached the semi-finals of the All Japan Badminton Championships last month where he stretched two-time world champion Kento Momota to three games. Momota went on to win the title.
To be fair to Justin, fatigue could have played a part in his defeat.
The match against Tanaka was Justin's seventh match in the span of three days as he needed to overcome a gruelling three-match qualifier on Thursday.
The nation's interest in the International Series-rated tournament has thus come to an end today following the semi-final exits of independent shuttlers Chia Wei Jie-Liew Xun and Wong Ling Ching in the men's doubles and women's singles competitions respectively.
Ling Ching gave top seed Kristin Kuuba (Estonia) a run for her money before going down 21-19, 14-21, 21-13 while Wei Jie-Liew Xun were beaten 21-18, 21-14 by Japan's Shuntaro Mezaki-Haruya Nishida.
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