After breezing through their four pool games, Hong Kong's Under 19 squad was dealt a harsh lesson in tournament play after losing to Singapore in the all-important semi-finals of the ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifiers Asia Division 2.

With the top two teams from the tournament set to progress to the Under 19 Asia Cup and gain the potential to qualify for the Under 19 World Cup, the semi-final had plenty at stake.

Singapore elected to bat first and made a decisive start with their opening pair putting on 105 inside the first 20 overs.

Hong Kong hit back however through Sarfaraz Khan (3-34) who picked up three top order wickets to halt Singapore's momentum.

Wickets continued to fall steadily and it appeared Hong Kong had done a great recovery effort when Singapore were reduced to 189-9 with four overs to go. But a brisk 31-run partnership for the final wicket took the score to 220-9.

In response, Hong Kong's chase never got in to gear and were eventually dismissed for 131, with Waqas Khan finishing a prolific tournament with 36.

Hong Kong will play off against UAE for third place.