KUALA LUMPUR – Malaysia’s top men’s doubles pair Goh Sze Fei and Nur Izzuddin Rumsani are keeping their feet firmly on the ground despite cruising into the second round of the Malaysia Masters today.
The independent world number two duo made light work of France’s Eloi Adam and Leo Rossi, winning 21-16, 21-13 in their opening match at the Axiata Arena. They will next face Chinese Taipei’s Chen Zhi Ray and Lin Yu Chieh on Thursday.
Despite their familiarity with the venue, having played in several editions of the Malaysia Open and Masters over the years, Sze Fei stressed the importance of staying focused.
“Every time we play here, it’s a different feeling. More importantly, we want to bring out our best game,” said Sze Fei.
Izzuddin echoed the sentiment, adding that there was still room for improvement ahead of their second-round clash.
“I believe our rotation can be better. We’ll need to review our match today and discuss what else we can improve before the next round,” he said.
Three other Malaysian men’s doubles pairs also advanced to the second round on the opening day of competition.
Man Wei Chong and Tee Kai Wun, seeded fifth, overcame India’s Pruthvi Krishnamurthy Roy and K. Sai Praneeth 21-15, 23-21. Low Hang Yee and Ng Eng Cheong defeated Chinese Taipei’s Chiang Chien-Wei and Wu Hsuan-Yi 21-14, 21-16, while Choong Hon Jian and Muhammad Haikal Nazri pulled off an upset, ousting Thailand’s seventh seeds Kittinupong Kedren and Dechapol Puavaranukroh 21-15, 21-18.
Wei Chong and Kai Wun will next meet Japan’s Hiroki Midorikawa and Kyohei Yamashita, who earlier defeated Wan Arif Wan Junaidi and Yap Roy King 21-11, 22-20.
However, tougher challenges await the other Malaysian pairs. Independents Hang Yee and Eng Cheong will face world number ones Kim Astrup and Anders Skaarup Rasmussen of Denmark, while Hon Jian and Haikal take on former world champions Takuro Hoki and Yugo Kobayashi of Japan.
In women’s doubles, Malaysia’s Go Pei Kee and Teoh Mei Xing scored an impressive 21-19, 21-19 win over China’s Chen Qing Chen and Wang Ting Ge. They will now face another formidable Chinese pair, Jia Yi Fan and Zhang Shu Xian.
The seventh-seeded duo defeated Malaysia’s Ong Xin Yee and Carmen Ting 21-11, 17-21, 21-13 in their first-round encounter.
Notably, both Qing Chen and Yi Fan are former partners, having previously reached world number one and are the reigning Olympic champions.
The second half of the first-round matches – including men’s singles, women’s singles, and mixed doubles – will take place tomorrow. – May 20, 2025