PETALING JAYA: It was a bittersweet ending to the year for shuttlers Goh Sze Fei-Nur Izzuddin Rumsani.
The World Tour Finals title eluded Sze Fei-Izzuddin but the pair are set to overtake Aaron-Chia-Soh Wooi Yik and become the country’s No. 1 in the men’s doubles.
The independent duo went down fighting 17-21, 21-17, 11-21 to Denmark’s world No. 3 Kim Astrup-Anders Skaarup Rasmussen in 65 minutes in the final in Hangzhou yesterday.
They took home US$100,000 (RM443,000) in prize money for their runners-up finish while the Danes nicked US$210,000 (RM934,500).
Sze Fei-Izzuddin did well to come back and win the second game after losing the first but ran out of steam in the decider.
It was understandable as the pair had to battle for 81 minutes to beat Indonesia’s world No. 4 Fajar Alfian-Rian Ardianto 17-21, 21-16, 27-25 in the last four a day earlier.
Sze Fei-Izzuddin also can be proud of themselves after making it into the final in their debut in the prestigious season ender.
Their commendable efforts will see them rise from No. 7 to a career high No. 3 in the world and overtake world No. 5 Aaron-Wooi Yik when the rankings are updated tomorrow.
The latter did not manage to progress to the last four in the Finals and are expected to drop to No. 6. Aaron-Wooi Yik have been Malaysia’s No. 1 since they overtook Goh V Shem-Tan Wee Kiong in 2019.
Sze Fei-Izzuddin though have enjoyed a stunning year, capturing the China, Japan and Arctic Opens and finishing runners-up in the Asian Championships and now the Tour Finals and will deservedly become the new top pair in the country.
Izzuddin was pleased with his performance with Sze Fei this year.
“This season has been very good for us. We achieved what we never did before,” Izzuddin told the Badminton World Federation (BWF).
“I will rate our performance as 10 out of 10. We hope we can do even better next year. We need to be more consistent, patient and become all-rounded players.”
On their performance in the Finals, Sze Fei said: “In the final, we couldn’t use the right strategy against the Danes. They messed up our rotation today and they were more patient.
“But to be honest, we didn’t expect to even reach the final.
“We are very grateful to our team for all they did for us and without them and our supporters, I don’t think we will have been able to do it.”
Sze Fei-Izzuddin will compete next in the Malaysian Open from Jan 7-12 at the Axiata Arena in Bukit Jalil.
