KUALA LUMPUR: The national table tennis players are in need of more exposure to enhance their chances of qualifying for the Olympics.
On Tuesday, the women's team fought valiantly but crashed out in the last 32 at the World Team Table Tennis Championships following a 3-1 loss to Croatia in Busan, South Korea.
The team first made headlines when they qualified for the knockout stage, narrowly defeating Italy 3-2 in their final Group 5 tie at the Busan Exhibition and Convention Centre on Monday.
The Malaysians found themselves in trouble when Croatia's Hana Arapovic defeated Karen Lyne 6-11, 11-5, 8-11, 11-9, 11-8 in the opening match.
Croatia extended their lead through Lea Rakovac, who overcame Alice Chang 13-11, 11-8, 12-10.
Seasoned campaigner Ho Ying kept Malaysia's hopes alive by defeating Mateja Jeger 13-11, 11-6, 11-6 in the third match.
However, Hana sealed Croatia's winning point after edging Alice 12-10, 9-11, 11-4, 11-3.
Earlier, the men's team of Choong Javen, Leong Chee Feng and Wong Qi Shen failed to reach the knockout stage after finishing bottom of Group 7, losing all four ties.
The Malaysians will have another chance to qualify for the Paris Olympics at the Asian-level qualifying tournament (singles) in May.
Ho Ying said it was heartbreaking as they could not repeat the come-from-behind win against Croatia.
"We were down after losing narrowly to Puerto Rico in the group stage, but our coach (Beh Lee Wei) said we still had a chance to reach the knockout stage if we beat Italy," said the 28-year-old.
"It was a tough tie, but we completed a comeback win against Italy.
"Everyone gave their best here. We all pushed ourselves hard.
"However, we lack experience playing regularly against foreign opponents. It also took us a bit longer to adapt or change our style of play during matches."
For the record, Lau Wai Cheng and Leong Mee Wan were the last Malaysians to play in the Olympics when they qualified for the 1998 Seoul Games.
Despite not having a representative at the Olympics since 1998, national players have shown vast improvement, thanks to the Table Tennis Association of Malaysia (TTAM) and Lee Wei's guidance.
Last year, they won a silver medal in the women's team event at the Phnom Penh Sea Games.
In 2022, they finished second in the team event at the Birmingham Commonwealth Games.
"We could have done better here if we had more experience. I hope we will get opportunities to play outside the country regularly.
"Although we are working hard to close the gap, other countries have advanced. We need more support," Ho Ying added.
