NATIONAL men’s doubles pair Goh Sze Fei-Nur Izzuddin Rumsani are out to rediscover the form that saw them winning their first World Tour title.
Since winning the German Open and finishing runners-up in the Swiss Open in March, the world No. 12 pair have not quite managed to hit the same heights.
They only reached the semi-finals once after that – in the Asian Championships in Manila in April.
Sze Fei has vowed to do better at the Malaysian Open starting tomorrow.
“There were higher expectations on us after we did well in the two tournaments in March. We couldn’t maintain our performance after that but there are no excuses. We want to do better here,” said Sze Fei.
In the recent Indonesian Open, Sze Fei-Izzuddin lost to Indonesian Masters winners Fajar Alfian-Rian Ardianto in the first round.
It was also only the second time this year that Sze Fei-Izzuddin fell in the first round of a tournament, the other being at the All-England.
Besides the early exits, Sze Fei-Izzuddin have been fairly consistent with three quarter-final finishes including in the Thomas Cup in May but the former admitted that they demanded more from themselves.
“We need to be stronger mentally if we are to succeed. We have to deal with the pressure better,” said Sze Fei.
The duo will open their campaign against Japan’s Keiichiro Matsui-Yoshinori Takeuchi in the opening round and should proceed with minimum fuss.
But what follows could be a clash with India’s world No. 8 Satwiksairaj Rankireddy-Chirag Shetty, who denied them a win in the Thomas Cup quarter-final first doubles tie.
The Indians are set to take on another Malaysian pair, world No. 38 Man Wei Chong-Tee Kai Wun in the opening round.