PETALING JAYA: Paddlers Choong Javen-Wong Qi Shen continue to punch above their weight with another breakthrough performance for Malaysia.
The Malaysian pairing qualified for their first senior World Tour final after beating Puerto Rico's Angel Naranjo-Oscar Birriel 6-11, 11-4, 11-9, 11-5 in the semi-finals of the WTT Feeder Havirov tournament.
Javen-Qi Shen, however, settled for runner-up after losing to the host nation challengers Lubomir Pistej-Jakub Zelinka 8-11, 11-8-, 4-11, 11-13. in the final on Thursday.
Javen-Qi Shen opened their main draw campaign by beating Kazakhstan's Dastan Kenzhigulov-Abdulla Mamay 11-13, 11-8, 11-6, 6-11, 11-9 and then overcame South Korea-Malta combination Kim Tae-hyun-Amirreza Abbasi 12-10, 11-6, 9-11, 11-9 to enter the last four.
It was in October last year when Javen-Qi Shen claimed a historic bronze medal for Malaysia in the Asian Championships in Astana, Kazakhstan.
Javen-Qi Shen went on to win gold for Malaysia at the South-east Asian Championships in Bangkok, Thailand the following month.
It has certainly been a rewarding campaign for Malaysia in Europe this month as women's doubles pair Tee Ai Xin-Karen Lyne also finished runner-up in the Feeder Ototec 1 tournament in Slovenia last week.
