Third seeded Malaysia took 142 minutes to overcome a young and inexperienced English team seeded 10th, and will face a tougher opponent, South Korea, tonight to conclude the group matches.

Except for 2007 All England doubles champion Koo Kien Keat/Tan Boon Heong, the other Malaysians seemed to struggle a little despite facing little resistance from their respective opponents.

World No. 2 Lee Chong Wei took 31 minutes to tame Andrew Smith 21-17, 21-15 while seasoned campaigners Choong Tan Fook/Lee Wan Wah, entering their sixth Thomas Cup edition, beat Robert Adcock/Robin Middleton 21-19, 21-16 in 27 minutes.

Malaysia's second singles and world No. 14 Wong Choong Hann was also shaky but still won by 22-20, 21-16 in 30 minutes.

Olympic-bound duo Kien Keat/Boon Heong easily trounced Christopher Adcock/Christopher Langridge 21-12, 21-12 in 27 minutes while 2003 All England champion Muhd Hafiz Hashim sealed the victory for Malaysia by beating Ben Beckman 21-15, 21-14 in 27 minutes.

The team's men's singles coach, Misbun Sidek, said Chong Wei should have finished his match earlier if he was more patient.

"He was struggling a bit in the first set. During the break, I told him to work on his tactical strategy and it worked in the second set," he told reporters here.

Doubles coach Rexy Mainaky admitted that Chong Wei, Tan Fook/Wan Wah and Choong Hann should be more focused in their respective matches.

"All of them are seasoned campaigners and should adapt quickly to the court surroundings.

"Against South Korea today, it will be a fierce battle and I hope they will use their experience to overcome their opponents," he said.

In the 2006 edition in Japan, South Korea ousted Ma1aysia in the quarterfinals stage.

Team captain Choong Hann admitted that his teammates did not perform as expected.

"But it's good to face a weaker opponent to get back the normal rhythm  before battling against tough opponents like South Korea," he said. ─ Bernama