KUALA LUMPUR – National men’s doubles pair Goh Sze Fei and Nur Izzuddin Rumsani’s sterling run at the Badminton Asia Championships (BAC) in Ningbo, China, is worthy of celebration, despite it being the final tournament offering Olympic qualification points.
The BAC holds the same prestige as a Super 1000 tournament and this is the pair’s biggest achievement in their career so far.
The world number 19 duo’s previous best results are a pair of Super 300 wins at the 2022 German Open and last year’s US Open.
National coaching director Rexy Mainaky believes that only consistency is key for their future success.
“Their performance in this tournament was good, but it is a shame that it only came in the last tournament for Olympic qualification. I hope Sze Fei and Izzuddin can be more consistent after this.
“In the final, I saw that they lost confidence after their 5-1 lead in the third set was wiped away.
“They began making errors and were hesitant in their play,” he told Scoop when contacted.
Facing off against world number three pair Liang Wei Keng and Wang Chang at the finals at the Ningbo Olympic Sports Centre, Sze Fei and Izzuddin lost the first set but silenced the home crowd in the second.
They started the rubber game on the right foot with a 5-1 lead but the Chinese pair strung eight points together and took over the third set to win the match 21-17, 15-21, 21-10.
Earlier in the tournament, Malaysia’s fourth-best pair took out top duos such as current and former world champions Kang Min-hyuk and Seo Seung-jae, as well as Aaron Chia and Soh Wooi Yik.
They even bested defending Olympic gold medalist Lee Yang and Wang Chi-lin from Chinese Taipei en route to the final.
This result bodes well for Malaysia’s Thomas Cup squad, with Sze Fei-Izzuddin included as one of the doubles pairs in the tournament, which will run from April 28 to May 5 in Chengdu, China. – April 14, 2024