Do us proud: Goh Sze Fei (front) and Nur Izzuddin Rumsani’s first assignment since getting back together will be the Korean Open from July 18-23.
PETALING JAYA: Goh Sze Fei and Nur Izzuddin Rumsani will work on their communication problem after renewing their partnership in a bid to make the cut for the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Sze Fei and Nur Izzuddin got back together on Wednesday after their split in January.
“We have good chemistry as we had been partners for so many years (eight) and I’m confident that we can do better than what we did in the months before our split,” said Sze Fei.
“We have the same aim now and that is to try to qualify for the Olympics and we will do everything we can to fulfil our dreams.”
The 25-year-old Sze Fei acknowledged that he and Izzuddin have a lot to prove and need to hit the ground running.
“We are grateful to BAM (Badminton Association of Malaysia) for helping us get back together,” said Sze Fei, who had dropped to No. 32 in the latest world rankings with Izzuddin.
“We have the responsibility to ourselves, BAM and our sponsors to do well. We also need to learn from our past mistakes.
“For me, communication is very important for us to succeed in our mission.”
The pair had enjoyed some fruitful moments in their partnership especially when they captured the German Open in March last year and were ranked as high as No. 9.
“I always look back on my victory with Izzuddin in the German Open,” said Sze Fei, who had formed a brief partnership with Choong Hon Jian after his split with Izzuddin.
Sze Fei-Izzuddin face tough competition from their teammates – world No. 3 Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik, Ong Yew Sin-Teo Ee Yi (No. 7) and Man Wei Chong-Tee Kai Wun (No. 22) – in the race to Paris as only two pairs from a country can make the cut, provided both are ranked in the top eight by the end of the qualification period in April next year.
Sze Fei though is determined to look at the positives and believes that having many pairs vying for the Olympics is a good sign for the country.“I feel happy to be in this situation as this is good for Malaysia’s men’s doubles,” said Sze Fei.
“The competition between teammates also gives me more motivation to do better with Izzuddin.”
Sze Fei-Izzuddin’s first assignment since getting back together will be the Korean Open from July 18-23.
