KUALA LUMPUR: National men’s doubles pair Goh Sze Fei-Nur Izzuddin Rumsani gave it their all but still fell 17-21, 21-15, 10-21 to world number three Liang Wei Keng-Wang Chang in the final at the Badminton Asia Championships (BAC) 2024 in Ningbo today.
The unseeded Sze Fei-Nur Izzuddin, however, can hold their heads high for fighting gallantly for an hour and four minutes against the home pair at the Ningbo Olympic Sports Center Gymnasium.
Sze Fei-Nur Izzuddin began aggressively but it was the Chinese pair who clinched the first game.
Undeterred, the Malaysian pair found their rhythm, which saw them dispatch world champions Kang Min Hyuk-Seo Seung Jae of South Korea in the first round and compatriots Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik in the semi-finals, to take the second game and force a decider.
In the rubber game, 2022 German Open champions Sze Fei-Nur Izzuddin’s game took a nosedive as the Chinese pair turned on the style to romp home to victory in front of a raucous home crowd.
Malaysia last won the men’s doubles title in the BAC when Choong Tan Fook-Lee Wan Wah defeated teammates Koo Kien Keat-Tan Boon Heong 21-14, 11-21, 21-12 in the 2007 edition in Johor Bahru.
-- BERNAMA
