KUALA LUMPUR: It will be a mission with dual purpose for professional men’s doubles shuttlers Goh Sze Fei-Nur Izzuddin Rumsani as they gear up for the Indian Open starting today at the KD Jadhav Indoor Stadium in New Delhi.
Sze Fei-Izzuddin have climbed to world No. 2 spot overtaking China’s Liang Weikeng-Wang Chang in the latest world rankings.
While this achievement serves as a morale booster following their early exit at last week’s Malaysian Open, it also adds pressure as they seek to live up to their newly found status.
Last week at the Axiata Arena, they were dealt a blow, unexpectedly defeated by Daniel Lungaard-Mads Vestergaard of Denmark.
This raises concerns, as they head into the Indian Open with a history of underwhelming performances.
Since making their debut at the Indian Open in 2018, the duo have yet to advance beyond the quarter-finals.
Their 2019 campaign ended in the second round, where they were defeated by Denmark’s Kim Astrup-Anders Skaarup Rasmussen, the tournament’s top seeds.
The tournament was cancelled in 2020 and 2021 due to the Covid-19 pandemic, and they opted out of the event in 2022.
When they returned in 2023, they suffered a first round exit at the hands of China’s Ren Xiangyu-Tan Qiang.
Last year, they faced another setback when they were defeated in the second round by Liu Yuchen-Ou Xuanyi, also from China.
This time, Sze Fei-Izzudin are determined to break the cycle of early exits as they face compatriots Tan Wee Kiong-Nur Azriyn Ayub in the first round.
In addition to them, Malaysia will also be represented by five other men’s doubles pairs at the tournament, including Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik, Man Wei Chong-Tee Kai Wun, Wan Arif Wan Junaidi-Yap Roy King, Ong Yew Sin-Teo Ee Yi and Wong Tien Ci-Lim Tze Jian.
