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The Singapore's men's national badminton team lost to three-time champions Indonesia and finished third at the Badminton Asia Team Championships held at Setia City Convention Center in Shah Alam, Selangor at 4pm on Feb. 19.
Singapore's men's team walked away with a historic joint bronze medal, the first ever time the nation had won a medal in the Badminton Asia Team Championships.
Singapore finishes third
Singaporean shuttler Loh Kean Yew, Badminton World Champion and world number 12, was the first singles player to go head to head with Indonesian counterpart and world number 55 Chico Aura Dwi Kuncoro.
Loh beat Chico 21-17, 21-19 in a 38-minute long match, and scored Singapore's first point in the semifinals.
This was the second time that Koh and Kwek played off together, the first of which was against Japan a day before on Feb. 18.
It was Jason Teh Jia Heng, who scored the second point and put Singapore once again in the lead, when he beat Indonesian Ikhsan Leonardo Imanuel Rumbay 18-21, 21-8, 21-9 during the second singles match.
After losing to Ikhsan in the previous three matches, Teh finally clinched a win against his rival in the hard fought 59-minute-long match.
This lead was erased in the second doubles match, when Indonesia's Muhammad Shohibul Fikri and Bagas Maulana won 15-21, 21-11, 21-15 against Singapore's Danny Bawa Chrisnanta and Terry Hee Yong Kai.
Indonesia and Singapore was neck and neck once again, and Singapore's Joel Koh Jia Wei and Indonesia's Christian Adinata was left to do battle for the final match point.
Adinata closed the match off by defeating Koh 21-11, 21-14 in 35 minutes, effectively moving Indonesia one step closer to defending their championship title.
Indonesia will face off Malaysia, who beat Korea 3-0, in the Badminton Asia Team Championships finals at 4pm on Feb. 20.
Move on to Worlds Men's Team Championships Thomas Cup
Despite finishing third in the Badminton Asia Team Championships semifinals, there was some consolation for the Singaporean men's team.
Having qualified as semifinalists meant that the men's team had earned themself a spot at this year's Thomas Cup, the world men's team championships.
This is only the third time that Singapore has qualified for the cup. The past two times were in 1986 and 2014.
The Thomas Cup will be held in Bangkok, Thailand from May 8 to May 15.
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Top image from Badminton Asia/Facebook and @lohkeanyew/Instagram