PETALING JAYA: World No. 1 men’s doubles pair Goh Sze Fei-Nur Izzuddin had to dig deep to secure their place in the Japan Open quarter-finals after a stern test from Japan’s Hiroki Midorikawa-Kyohei Yamashita.
In the second-round match at the Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium, defending champions Sze Fei-Izzuddin played with aggression but found themselves under pressure from the world No. 28 pair, who refused to go down without a fight and even took the lead late in the second game.
Fortunately, the Malaysians held their nerve and regained control just in time to close out the match 21-19, 21-18 and book their spot in the last eight.
They will next face either Indonesia’s Fajar Alfian, who is partnering Shohibul Fikri, or Denmark’s Rasmus Kjaer-Frederik Sogaard in the quarter-finals on Friday (July 18).
Joining them in the quarter-finals are sixth seeds Man Wei Chong-Tee Kai Wun, who had to battle hard for a 21-19, 14-21, 22-20 win over China’s Huang Di-Liu Yang.
However, a tough test awaits as they take on South Korea’s Kim Won-ho-Seo Seung-jae in the next round.
