PETALING JAYA, April 30 -- It may not have ended in glory, but Malaysia's women's team left the Uber Cup Finals with something just as valuable - belief.

Captain M. Thinaah, who was rested for the quarter-final clash against China in Horsens, Denmark, could only watch from the sidelines as her teammates went down fighting in a 3-0 defeat at Forum Horsens on Thursday (April 30).

The Malaysian squad featured singles players K. Lethanaa (22), Wong Ling Ching (22), Siti Zulaikha Azmi (19) and Goh Jin Wei (26), alongside doubles pairs Carmen Ting/Ong Xin Yee (19), Low Zi Yu/Noraqilah Maisarah Ramdan (15, 18), and Chong Jie Yu (20).

Despite the defeat, Malaysia pushed the 16-time champions and showed notable grit and maturity in what marked ...