PETALING JAYA: Malaysia's 22-year wait for the French Open men's doubles badminton title is over after Goh Sze Fei-Nur Izzuddin Rumsani and Man Wei Chong-Tee Kai Wun reached the final in Paris.
Sze Fei-Izzuddin survived a rollercoaster semi-final to beat Indonesia's Leo Rolly-Daniel Marthin 22-20, 21-9 at the Grand Arena Paris on Saturday (Oct 24).
Wei Chong-Kai Wun also advanced without dropping a game, defeating Indonesia's Raymond Indra-Nikolaus Joaquin 21-16, 21-15 in the other semi-final.
Malaysia have not won the title since Gan Teik Chai-Koo Kien Keat's victory in the 2004 edition.
In Sunday's (Oct 25) final, it could be anyone's game, although Sze Fei-Izzuddin hold the edge, having beaten Wei Chong-Kai Wun twice in their three meetings.
Their most recent meeting was at the 2025 Malaysian Masters, where Wei Chong-Kai Wun won en route to the title. Sze Fei-Izzuddin's other victories came at the 2024 China Open and 2022 German Open.
Wei Chong credited Kai Wun for helping them reach the final, just a week after their opening round exit at the Denmark Open in Odense.
"Tee really played well and covered for me, and there was not so much pressure on me," said Wei Chong.
"I have not fully recovered from my knee injury, but I'm much better than before. I need some time to fully recover."
Kai Wun added: "Our stamina was good as we did not really play yesterday (quarter-finals). We had a good rest and did well."
They progressed to the semi-finals after teammates Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik withdrew due to a right leg injury to Wooi Yik when trailing 0-5.
"We lost in the first round last week, and I told my partner not to worry but just focus on his game. I would support and cover for him. We have reached the final now, and hope to go all the way."
Malaysia will have a chance to make it a glorious day, with Pearly Tan-M. Thinaah (women's doubles) and Hoo Pang Ron-Lai Pei Jing (mixed doubles) also contesting their respective finals.
They will face top seeds Yuki Fukushima-Mayu Matsumoto of Japan and Feng Yanzhe-Huang Dongping of China respectively.
FIXTURES
FINALS
(Starting from 6pm Malaysian time onwards following the order below)
Women's singles: An Se-young (Kor) vs P. V. Sindhu (Ind).
Women's doubles: Pearly Tan-M. Thinaah (Mas) vs Yuki Fukushima-Mayu Matsumoto (Jpn).
Mixed doubles: Hoo Pang Ron-Lai Pei Jing (Mas) vs Feng Yanzhe-Huang Dongping (Chn).
Men's singles: Christo Popov (Fra) vs Moh Zaki Ubaidillah (Ina).
Men's doubles: Goh Sze Fei-Nur Izzuddin Rumsani (Mas) vs Man Wei Chong-Tee Kai Wun (Mas).
RESULTS
SEMI-FINALS
Men's singles: Christo Popov (Fra) bt Hu Zhean (Chn) 21-14, 21-10; Moh Zaki Ubaidillah (Ina) bt Alex Lanier (Fra) 21-16, 16-21, 21-17.
Men's doubles: Goh Sze Fei-Nur Izzuddin Rumsani (Mas) bt Leo Rolly-Daniel Marthin (Ina) 22-20, 21-9; Man Wei Chong-Tee Kai Wun (Mas) bt Raymond Indra-Nikolaus Joaquin (Ina) 21-16, 21-15.
Women's singles: An Se-young (Kor) bt Nozomi Okuhara (Jpn) 21-12, 21-10; P. V. Sindhu (Ind) bt Hina Akechi (Jpn) 21-10, 20-22, 21-16.
Women's doubles: Pearly Tan-M. Thinaah (Mas) bt Rin Iwanaga-Kie Nakanishi (Jpn) 21-17, 22-20; Yuki Fukushima-Mayu Matsumoto (Jpn) bt Rachel Allessya-Febi Setianingrum (Ina) 21-18, 21-15.
Mixed doubles: Hoo Pang Ron-Lai Pei Jing (Mas) bt Guo Xinwa-Chen Fanghui (Chn) 21-13, 21-9; Feng Yanzhe-Huang Dongping (Chn) bt Thom Giquel-Delphine Delrue (Fra) 19-21, 21-17, 21-19.
