Malaysia men’s doubles shuttlers Goh Sze Fei-Nur Izzuddin Rumsani in action against Denmark’s Kim Astrup-Anders Skaarup Rasmussen during the quarter-final match of Malaysian Masters at Axiata Arena in Bukit Jalil on Friday. — IZZRAFIQ ALIAS/The Star
PETALING JAYA: Men’s doubles pair Goh Sze Fei-Nur Izzuddin Rumsani shrugged off their disappointing quarter-final exit at the Malaysian Masters last week by making a brisk start in the Singapore Open on Tuesday (May 28).
World No. 14 Sze Fei-Izzuddin, who were beaten by eventual champions and world No. 4 Kim Astrup-Anders Skaarup Rasmussen of Denmark at the Axiata Arena last week, downed Lu Ching-yau-Yang Po-han of Taiwan 21-18, 21-13 in a 46-minute first-round clash.
The Malaysians will have to be prepared for a tough second-round battle on Thursday where they will meet world No. 8 Liu Yuchen-Ou Xuanyi after the China pair had overcome Christo Popov-Toma Junior Popov of France 25-23, 21-10 in their opening round match.
But Sze Fei-Izzuddin could still head into the second round with confidence as their head-to-head record against Yuchen-Xuanyi is tied at 2-2.
Izzuddin was happy with the way they played against the Taiwan pair today.
"We were able to bring out our best performance today and I’m also happy as this is our second win over the Taiwan pair," said Izzuddin. "There is improvement in our performance and we hope to maintain our consistency after this."
Malaysia’s top pair Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik, who dropped one rung from No. 4 to No. 5 after their quarter-final defeat at the Malaysian masters, will be out to make amends in Singapore.
They will play Taiwan pair Chng Ko-chi-Po Li-wei in their opening match tomorrow. World No. 20 Man Wei Chong-Tee Kai Wun, who also came unstuck in the last eight of the Malaysian Masters, will be meeting Thailand’s Supak Jomkoh-Kittinupong Kedren in their opening match.
In the women’s doubles, world No. 13 Pearly Tan-M. Thinaah were a pale shadow of themselves as they suffered a 10-21, 10-21 defeat to world No. 3 Liu Shengshu-Tan Ning of China in the first round.
Another Malaysian pair Chen Tang Jie-Toh Ee Wei also recovered from their Malaysian Masters setback to reach the second round.
Tang Jie-Ee Wei were beaten by compatriots Goh Soon Huat-Shevon Lai Jemie in the semi-finals and the independent pair went on to win the mixed doubles title at the Axiata Arena.
World No. 9 Tang Jie-Ee Wei played another Malaysian pair Hoo Pang Ron-Cheng Su Yin in Singapore but stayed firm to secure a 21-15, 21-17 win in 30 minutes. They face Mathias Christensen-Alexandra Boje of Denmark for a place in the quarter-finals on Wednesday.
