KUALA LUMPUR: Girls' singles Ong Xin Yee gave a narrow 11-10 lead in the first game against Xu Wen Jing in the World Junior Championships mixed team semi-finals, but Malaysia could not push forward in the relay scoring system, losing 110-76 to hosts China in Nanchang today.
Xin Yee, ranked 38th in the junior world rankings, overcame No. 4 Xu Wen Jing. but Malaysia allowed China to take a sizable 77-45 lead by the seventh game.
With just three games remaining, mixed pair Aaron Tai-Noraqilah Maisarah won 14 points against Lin Xiang Yi-Liu Yuan Yuan in the eighth game to slightly reduce the deficit to 88-59.
Malaysia were playing for pride at that stage with boys' pair Aaron-Khang Khai Xing taking 11 points against Hu Ke Yuan-Xiang Yi as China neared victory at 99-70.
China's girls' pair Chen Fan Shu Tian-Liu Jia Yue secured the 11 points needed in the last match against Xin Yee-Carmen Ting for an overall 110-76 scoreline.
China's victory proved that even the complicated relay scoring system can't do much damage to their march despite Malaysia's strong opposition.
China will be aiming for a record 15th mixed team title when they play Indonesia, who edged past Japan with an 110-105 scoreline, in the final tomorrow.
National junior head coach Jeffer Rosobin said the bronze medal was a consolation before they begin their challenge in the individual events from Oct 7-13.
"We had a good start as Xin Yee gave us the 11-10 lead, but we couldn't maintain our performance in the remaining games.
"There is a good chance for us to increase our medal haul through the individual events.
"The individual tournament will use the regular 21-point system where our players can start fresh and battle for medals."
Aaron-Khai Xing, who finished runners-up to Ke Yuan-Xiang Yi in the Asian Junior Championships in Yogyakarta, Indonesia in July, are Malaysia's best bets for a title.