Hard at work: Goh Sze Fei (back) and Nur Izzuddin Rumsani training at the Academy Badminton Malaysia (ABM) in Bukit Kiara ahead of the Thomas Cup Finals from April 27-May 5. — ART CHEN/The Star
PETALING JAYA: Men’s doubles shuttlers Goh Sze Fei-Nur Izzuddin Rumsani are fired up to deliver for Malaysia in the second doubles in the Thomas Cup Finals from April 27-May 5 in Chengdu, China, after their positive showing in the Asian Championships.
Sze Fei-Izzuddin gave themselves a timely boost for the prestigious team meet after finishing runners-up in the Asian meet in Ningbo 10 days ago.
In fact, despite faltering in Badminton World Federation (BWF) World Tour competitions this year, the pair also did well in the Asia Team Championships which also acted as the Thomas Cup qualifiers in Shah Alam in February.
Sze Fei-Izzuddin won all their matches to help Malaysia to a runners-up finish.
The duo, who moved up from No. 19 to No. 15 in the latest rankings, are now out to continue their encouraging form in Chengdu.
“After the Asian meet, we are definitely excited and even more motivated as this is a team event,” said Sze Fei after a training session at the Academy Badminton Malaysia (ABM) in Bukit Kiara yesterday.
“We feel more responsible to perform well and deliver for the team.”
On the key to their improvement, Sze Fei said: “We discussed a lot and encouraged each other during the matches.
“This is a small breakthrough for us and I hope this helps to increase our confidence.”
Sze Fei-Izzuddin will be competing for the third time in the tournament after also being part of the team in the 2020 and 2022 editions in Aarhus, Denmark, and Bangkok, Thailand, respectively.
Meanwhile, national No. 1 and world No. 5 Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik are set to play in the first doubles while young, rising pair Choong Hon Jian-Mohd Haikal Nazri are the other pair selected for the team.
Malaysia face Hong Kong in their opening group match on April 27 before playing Algeria on April 28 and Denmark on April 30.
