PETALING JAYA: Top seeds Mohd Faiq Masawi-Lok Hong Quan are just one step away from the men’s doubles crown at the Malaysia International Series after storming into the final at the Indoor Arena, Educity Sports Complex in Johor.
Standing in their way are South Korea’s sixth seeds Kim Jae-hyeon-Lee Sang-won, who booked their spot after beating Indonesia’s Dexter Farrell-Wahyu Agung Prasetyo 21-14, 21-18.
Faiq-Hong Quan lived up to expectations by defeating compatriots Datu Anif Isaac Datu Asrah-Loh Ziheng 21-12, 21-15 in the semi-finals.
The victory was especially sweet as it erased the disappointment of last year when, despite being the top seeds, they stumbled in the semi-finals of the same tournament.
“Our opponents today had much more experience compared to us, so I didn’t expect the match to end in our favour,” said Faiq.
Hong Quan added: “We stayed focused by reminding ourselves to fight for every point and not let pressure take over. That mindset helped us keep our rhythm and give everything until the last rally.”
Meanwhile, Ziheng’s hopes of reaching at least one final were dashed later in the day when he and partner Noraqilah Maisarah Ramdan fell in the mixed doubles semi-finals.
The fourth seeds were outplayed by South Korea’s Kim Jae-hyeon-Jang Eun-seo, who cruised to a 21-14, 21-12 win to set up an all-Korean final.
Eighth seeds Noh Jin-seong-Ye Na-lee upset fifth seeds Lee Sang-won-Kim Min-ji 19-21, 21-15, 21-19 to keep their run alive.
