PETALING JAYA: Can the men doubles shuttlers Goh Sze Fei-Nur Izzuddin Rumsani deliver the perfect parting gift for Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) by winning the Japan Open title?
The golden chance is there although Sze Fei-Izzuddin will be facing world champions and third seeds Kang Min-hyuk-Seo Seung-jae of South Korea in the men’s doubles final at Yokohama Arena in Yokohama today.
The world No. 12 Sze Fei-Izzuddin snuffed out the challenges of Indonesia in the tournament when they beat Leo Rolly-Bagas Maulana of Indonesia 21-19, 21-17 in a 42-minute quarter-final match.
A day ago, they were sensational in disposing off top Indonesian pair Fajar Alfian-Rian Ardianto in the semi-finals
Min-hyuk-Seung-jae meanwhile had to work hard to oust Shohibul Fikri-Daniel Marthin of Indonesia 12-21, 21-15, 21-19 to set up the match against the Malaysians.
Sze Fei-Izzuddin’s win came on the same day they received the blessing from the Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) to turn independent from Sept 1 onwards.
The ongoing Japan Open and next week’s Korean Open will be their last stints as BAM players.
Sze Fei wants to stay focused.
“We are happy to win but our mission is far from over, we have one more match to go,” said Sze Fei in an interview with Badminton World Federation (BWF).
“We know there is expectations on us to go all the way, we will use it as our motivation.”
Said Izzuddin: “I’m thankful...we did the best we could. We were able to control our emotions and maintained consistency in every shot.”
Izzuddin knows they have to be consistent against the Koreans due to the pairing’s vast experience.
Sze Fei-Izzuddin however can take comfort that they have a 2-2 record against the Koreans, having dumped the world champions at the recent meeting during the Asian Badminton Championships this year.
If they win, it will be their biggest Open titles in their career.
