The Malaysian women’s team crashed out in the semi-finals of the Asia Team Championships after a tame 3-0 defeat against South Korea in an encounter that lasted less than three hours on Saturday.

Despite not bringing their top names to this tournament, the South Koreans second stringers proved there was still a huge gulf in class between both the nations.

Sim Yu-Jin gave the 2020 finalists the lead after overcoming S. Kisona 21-16, 21-17 in 38 minutes.

Sim, ranked the fourth highest shuttler in her country’s pecking order, was thoroughly dominant against an error-prone Kisona who could find any sort of sustained momentum.

Baek Ha-Na-Seong Seung-Yeon duly extended South Korea’s advantage after a 21-15, 21-14 victory over scratch pairing Valeree Siow-Pearly Tan.

The Malaysians’ lack of camaraderie was evident in this match against their opponents who were precise and compact, closing down the spaces and not allowing much room for Siow-Tan to find the winners.

With Malaysia already 2-0 down, it was up to 17-year-old Siti Nurshuhaini to try and claw a point back against Lee Se-Yeon.

Lee was imperious in the first game to easily take the lead at 21-11, but to her credit, Siti bucked up in the second to come away with a 21-15 victory, even leading at 16-6 at one stage.

But Lee eventually sealed the outright victory with a 21-11, 15-21, 21-13 win to power her team to a second consecutive final.

South Korea take on Indonesia for the title after defending champions Japan withdrew, citing several of their shuttlers unfit to play.

For the Malaysian women, their result mirrored the one of the 2020 edition.

In reaching the semis, they were also confirmed of a berth at the Uber Cup Finals in Bangkok in May.