AICHI: National men's doubles pair Goh Sze Fei and Nur Izzuddin Mohd Rumsani missed the chance to continue Malaysia's medal-winning legacy in the men's doubles event at the Asian Games, bowing out in the quarter-finals of the Aichi-Nagoya 2026 competition on Sunday (Sept 29).
The world number six pair had to concede defeat to Paris 2024 Olympic silver medallists Liang Weikeng Wang Chang of China, 13-21, 17-21 in a match held at Ichinomiya City Municipal Gymnasium.
Sze Fei admitted that they struggled with the shuttlecock conditions, forcing them into a defensive position for much of the match against the Chinese pair.
"I feel that today, we had some doubts regarding the shuttle, so we were constantly in a defensive position.
"I think that is the area we need to improve further," he said after the match.
The defeat also meant Malaysia failed to repeat the achievement from the Hangzhou 2022 edition, where Aaron Chia and Soh Wooi Yik won the bronze medal in the event.
To make matters worse, the nation's campaign in the men's doubles event ended, as Aaron Chia and Tee Kai Wun had already been eliminated in the second round on Saturday.
Meanwhile, Izzuddin acknowledged their disappointment at failing to reach the semi-finals but viewed the defeat as a challenge to address their weaknesses before competing in upcoming tournaments.
"There is certainly disappointment, but we view this as a challenge to improve, and there are still many championships we have yet to win.
"We will focus on the upcoming tournaments first specifically Denmark and France,” he said.
Izzuddin also described their appearance at the Asian Games as a valuable experience, noting the opportunity to learn a great deal from other team members and coaches.
"We learned a lot from the team's sportsmanship and the team event, and we also gained a lot of insight from the other coaches here,” he said. - Bernama
