Tough task: Goh Sze Fei-Nur Izzuddin will play Taiwan’s Lee Yang-Lu Chen in the first round of the Denmark Open.
PETALING JAYA: Men’s doubles pair Goh Sze Fei-Nur Izzuddin Rumsani must overcome their inner demons and start believing in their ability that fetched them the German Open title to bounce back from their current run of poor results.
Sze Fei-Izzuddin, the World No. 10, had a brilliant run in the European circuit in March where they secured the first Badminton World Federation (BWF) world tour title in Germany and finished runners-up in the Swiss Open three weeks later.
However, Sze Fei-Izzuddin struggled to handle the pressure that comes with success at the international stage and setbacks followed. They have not reached a final since the Swiss Open.
However, national doubles coach Tan Bin Shen believes the pair will bounce back during the European season where they can use the short term goal of qualifying for the World Tour Finals as a motivation to do well.
The duo are down to play in the Denmark Open in Odense (Oct 18-23), French Open in Paris (Oct 25-30) and the Hylo Open in Saarbrucken, Germany (Nov 1-6) where valuable points are up for grabs for the World Tour Finals.
Sze Fei-Izzuddin, who are in sixth position, can claim a spot in the tour finals in Guangzhou (Dec 14-18) where top eight pairs qualify.
“The World Tour Finals is a short term target but the big picture is the 2024 Paris Olympics. Sze Fei-Izzuddin must regain their confidence and perform consistently as the qualifying rounds for the major event will start next year.
“They didn’t have good results in several tournaments since winning the German Open but it has nothing to do with their ability and hard work. I hope they can bounce back,” said Bin Shen.
“They are quite disciplined and always follow the game plan in their matches but they struggle when their opponents break their rhythm.
“They cannot think quickly to try something else on court when their normal style of play doesn’t work.”
Bin Shen also urged the 25-year-old Sze Fei and Izzuddin, 24, to have good communication on court just like their close friendship off court.
“Communication is important during a match and it even more crucial when the players are struggling. Sze Fei and Izzuddin must encourage each other to fight back when things are not going well for them,” added Bin Shen.
“As coaches, we plan strategies and tactics but once they enter the court, they need to help each other.”
They have a tricky first round clash against Taiwan’s Lee Yang, who won last year’s Olympic gold with Wang Chi-lin, and Lu Chen and a win possibly pitting them against World No. 1 Takuro Hoki-Yugo Kobayashi of Japan in the second round at the Denmark Open.
Winning those two matches is the tonic that would put their revival on the right track.
