BUKIT JALIL: While this year’s Malaysian Open was smoothly and impressively organised, the lingering disappointment lay in the lack of local players making a deeper run on home soil. Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) president Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul had hoped for several elite national players to reach the semi-finals at least, but those expectations were not met. They however fell short in the final after losing 15-21, 21-12, 21-18 to world No. What I can conclude is that the tournament was well organised and ran smoothly without any issues. "In terms of players performance, we would of course have liked to see more players progress to the latter stages such as the semi-finals and the final.

Source: The Star January 11, 2026 15:22 UTC