PETALING JAYA: Former world No. 1 pair Goh Sze Fei-Nur Izzuddin Rumsani again found India’s Satwiksairaj Rankireddy-Chirag Shetty too tough to handle after crashing out in the semi-finals of the Thailand Open yesterday.
Playing at the Nimibutr Stadium in Bangkok, Sze Fei-Izzuddin fought hard before going down 21-19, 20-22, 16-21 in 82 minutes.
The defeat was their eighth against the Indian pair in 10 meetings since their first encounter at the Indian International Series in 2016.
Izzuddin admitted they had tried everything to turn the match around, especially after falling behind in the deciding game, but Satwiksairaj-Chirag maintained the pressure throughout the match.
“We already did our best. Chirag and Satwik played very well today.
“They kept the pace fast, kept attacking and kept putting pressure on us. We could not really handle the pressure,” said Izzuddin in a post-match interview with the Badminton World Federation.
Still, the pair were encouraged by their overall display after struggling with inconsistency in recent tournaments.
“We are getting back to our best performance, so we will keep improving our fitness,” he added.
Sze Fei-Izzuddin previously reached the quarter-finals in 2022 but did not compete in the next three editions.
Their coach Ameer Amri Zainuddin also praised the pair for refusing to give up despite trailing in the deciding game.
“The Indian pair were very good, especially in serve reception. But I am happy with the way our players kept fighting even when they were behind.
“The way we think on court is important. We did not give up and still tried to play our game,” said Ameer.
Meanwhile, women’s doubles pair Low Zi Yu-Noraqilah Maisarah Ramdan are just one win away from capturing the China Masters title after advancing to the final yesterday.
The fourth seeds defeated home pair Wang Yiduo-Wang Zimeng 21-19, 21-18 in the semi-finals at the Baoji City Gymnasium in 42 minutes to set up a meeting against Japan’s Sumire Nakade-Miyu Takahashi.
SEMI-FINAL RESULTS
Men’s singles: Ander Antonsen (Den) w.o Shi Yuqi (Chn); Kunlavut Vitidsarn (Tha) bt Chou Tien-chen (Tpe) 21-7, 21-19.
Men’s doubles: Satwiksairaj Rankireddy-Chirag Shetty (Ind) bt Goh Sze Fei-Nur Izzuddin Rumsani (Mas) 21-18, 21-17; Leo Carnando-Daniel Marthin (Ina) bt He Jiting-Ren Xiangyu (Chn) 21-15, 21-18.
Women’s singles: Akane Yamaguchi (Jpn) bt Pitchamon Opatniputh (Tha) 21-11, 21-15; Chen Yufei (Chn) bt Hina Akechi (Jpn) 21-17, 21-19.
Women’s doubles: Bao Lijing-Cao Zihan (Chn) bt Hu Lingfang-Jheng Yu-chieh (Tpe) 21-18, 21-17; Rin Iwanaga-Kie Nakanishi (Jpn) bt Rui Hirokami-Sayaka Hobara (Jpn) 22-20, 21-12.
Mixed doubles: Mathias Christiansen-Alexandra Boje (Den) bt Cheng Xing-Zhang Chi (Chn) 23-21, 17-21, 21-16.
