Malaysia put up a good fight in a riveting Badminton Asia Mixed Team Championship (BAMTC) quarterfinals tie against defending champions, China 2-3.

World No. 4 Lee Zii Jia put the national team ahead with a  21-16 22-20 win over Lei Lanxi at the Dubai Exhibition Centre.

In the women's singles, Goh Jin Wei fought hard but lost out 21-15 13-21 19-21 to emerging talent, Gao Fangjie.

Professional men's doubles duo, Teo Ee Yi-Ong Yew Sin were outdone 22-24, 18-21 by China's world No. 21 He Jiting-Zhao Haodong.

World No. 5 pair, Pearly Tan-M Thinaah gave Malaysia a lifeline after coming away with a hard-fought 21-17 12-21 21-19 victory over Liu Shengshu-Tan Ning.

In the all-important deciding tie, Tan Kian Meng-Lai Pei Jing gave their all on court but could not prevent China's new pair Feng Yanzhe-Huang Dongping from winning 21-15 25-23.

For the record, Malaysia has already qualified to the prestigious Sudirman Cup based on the world team rankings.