PETALING JAYA: Men’s doubles pair Goh Sze Fei-Nur Izzuddin Rumsani will need to stay sharp as Malaysia’s last remaining representatives in the Thailand Open with a place in the semi-finals at stake.
The third seeds will take on Scotland’s Matthew Grimley-Christopher Grimley in today’s quarter-finals at Nimibutr Stadium in Bangkok.
Despite the Scottish pair being ranked No. 49 in the world, Sze Fei-Izzuddin cannot afford to take them lightly after they stunned Teo Ee Yi-Chia Wei Jie 26-24, 21-10 in the second round yesterday.
Sze Fei-Izzuddin were also tested after Sze Fei struggled with dizziness during their match against China’s Huang Di-Liu Yang before eventually securing a 24-22, 21-12 win.
“Sorry, my condition is not good, a bit dizzy,” admitted Sze Fei in a post-match interview with the Badminton World Federation.
“We lost a bit of focus, but we’re happy we managed to come back at the end of the second game,” said Izzuddin.
A win today would see Sze Fei-Izzuddin surpass their previous best result in the tournament after reaching the quarter-finals in 2022 before losing to Japan’s Takuro Hoki-Yugo Kobayashi.
Meanwhile, fellow Malaysians Tan Wee Kiong-Nur Azriyn Ayub crashed out after going down 21-13, 20-22, 14-21 to Thailand’s Peeratchai Sukhphun-Pakkapon Teeraratsakul.
The result was disappointing considering the Thai pair are only ranked 60th in the world.
It was the second straight defeat for Wee Kiong-Azriyn against the Thai pair after also going down to them at the Swiss Open in March.
“In men’s doubles, even though there are not many big names in this tournament, the competition is still very tough. You can see from the draw that none of the matches are easy,” said Wee Kiong.
Still, it was an improvement from last year when they were knocked out in the first round by South Korea’s Jin Yong-Na Sung-seung.
Bryan Jeremy Goonting-Mohd Haikal Nazri also bowed out after losing 12-21, 19-21 to India’s top seeds Satwiksairaj Rankireddy-Chirag Shetty in 44 minutes.
RESULTS
(Malaysians only)
Second round
Men’s doubles: Satwiksairaj Rankireddy-Chirag Shetty (Ind) bt Bryan Jeremy Goonting 21-12, 21-19; Peeratchai Sukphun-Pakkapon Teeraratsakul (Tha) bt Tan Wee Kiong-Nur Azriyn Ayub 13-21, 22-20, 21-14; Goh Sze Fei-Nur Izzuddin bt Huang Di-Liu Yang (Chn) 21-14, 24-22; Christopher Grimley-Matthew Grimley bt Chia Wei Jie-Teo Ee Yi 26-24, 21-10.
First round
Mixed doubles: Gao Jiaxuan-Wei Yaxin (Chn) bt Wong Tien Ci-Lim Chiew Sien 21-12, 21-15.
