No costly loss: Goh Sze Fei-Nur Izzuddin Rumsani in action against compatriots Man Wei Chong-Tee Kai Wun in the quarter-finals. — IZZRAFIQ ALIAS/The Star
KUALA LUMPUR: Men’s doubles shuttlers Goh Sze Fei-Nur Izzuddin Rumsani have more incentive to rediscover their best form as they are set to reach No. 1 in the world rankings for the first time.
Sze Fei-Izzuddin enjoyed a great start to the year when they captured the Indian Open in January but the duo’s form has dipped since then.
The world No. 2 pair have not reached the semi-finals in any of their outings after their triumph in New Delhi.
Sze Fei-Izzuddin though are set to be rewarded for their fine performances last year and in India when the rankings list is updated tomorrow as they will overtake Denmark’s current world No. 1 Kim Astrup-Anders Skaarup Rasmussen.
This is after Astrup-Rasmussen failed to defend their Malaysian Masters title when they went down to world No. 3 Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik in the semi-finals on Saturday.
Sze Fei-Izzuddin lost to another Malaysian pair Man Wei Chong-Tee Kai Wun in the last eight but will still move up to the No. 1 spot as the Danes will lose ranking points after their defeat to Aaron-Wooi Yik.
The independent combo will become the first Malaysians in the men’s doubles to reach world No. 1 since Goh V Shem-Tan Wee Kiong achieved the feat in 2016.
Sze Fei-Izzuddin will also join an illustrious list of names to hold the No. 1 ranking in the event in the country including Razif Sidek-Jalani Sidek (1989), Cheah Soon Kit-Soo Beng Kiang (1992), Cheah Soon Kit-Yap Kim Hock (1996), Chan Chong Ming-Chew Choon Eng (2002), Choong Tan Fook-Lee Wan Wah (2004) and Koo Kien Keat-Tan Boon Heong (2007).
The achievement will come as a boost for Sze Fei-Izzuddin as they seek to regain their form quickly ahead of the Singapore Open which starts tomorrow.
“For me, it’s normal to go through ups and down. What we need to do now is focus on ourselves and improve the areas where we are lacking,” said Izzuddin.
“We have to stay confident, believe in ourselves and stay focused on our next tournament.”
In the Singapore tourney, Sze Fei-Izzuddin will open their campaign against Taiwan’s world No. 19 Lee Fang-chih-Lee Fang-jen.
