KUALA LUMPUR – There will be an all-Malaysian semi-final at the Badminton Asia Championships (BAC) in Ningbo, China tomorrow.
This comes after national men’s doubles pair Goh Sze Fei-Nur Izzuddin Rumsani battled hard through three games in the quarter-finals to secure their spot today.
They continued their giant-killing exploits at the Ningbo Olympic Sports Centre as reigning Olympic champions Lee Yang-Wang Chi-lin of Chinese Taipei became their latest victims.
In the tightly contested match, lasting 69 minutes, Malaysia’s world number 19 pair got off to a bad start when they lost the first set.
They then staged a comeback against the world number 10 pair to win the next two sets to seal the match 19-21, 21-19, 21-19.
In the first round, Sze Fei-Nur Izzuddin had disposed of reigning world champions Kang Min-hyuk-Seo Seung-jae of South Korea, then they got a lucky break after He Jiting-Ren Xiangyu had to retire from their second-round match yesterday.
Heading into today’s match their record against Lee Yang and Chi-lin was 2-1 in favour of the opposition.
But Malaysia’s fourth-best pair showed grit and composure to win the match.
They will meet compatriots and former world champions Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik in the semi-final tomorrow who have a 6-1 record against them.
Aaron and Wooi Yik breezed past home pair Liu Yuchen-Ou Xuanyi in straight sets earlier today to book their semis spot.
Sze Fei and Nur Izzuddin have lost their past five meetings with the national number one pair, with the latest clash being at the All England last month.
If going by current form the world number five pair cannot look past their compatriots if they are to get to the final on Sunday, or else they will be the next names crossed off in Sze Fei and Nur Izzuddin’s giant-killing list at the BAC. — April 12, 2024