Soniia Cheah put on a fighting display on her Tokyo Olympics debut but came up short against Thailand’s Ratchanok Intanon who won 19-21, 21-18, 21-10 in a Group N decider.

Cheah entered the fray knowing victory would take her to the last 16 after she got a walkover victory on Hungary's Laura Sarosi on Tuesday.

Having never beaten Ratchanok before, Cheah was determined to end that rut and started promisingly in an engaging opening game.

Cheah kept the Thai’s challenge at bay with great court coverage and several admirable crosscourt backhand returns to win the opener 21-19.

The second game started off with Ratchanok racing to a 8-0 lead before Cheah mustered a mighty recovery to win the next seven points.

The game could have gone either way, but Cheah’s decisions at net ended up costing her as Ratchanok leveled with a 21-18 win.

Buoyed by that, the Thai fifth seed was dominant in the deciding match to win 21-10 and confirm victory after 62 minutes.

The Malaysian contingent's challenge continues later today when Lee Zii Jia takes on Frenchman Brice Leverdez in a winner-takes-all men's singles Group M decider (7:40pm local time).

(Photo: asiana.my)