MALAYSIA’s professional men’s doubles pair Goh Sze Fei-Nur Izzuddin Rumsani kicked off their Japan Open campaign with a commanding victory at the Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium.
The world number one duo secured a straight-game win over Canada’s Kevin Lee-Ty Alexander Lindeman, finishing 21-13, 21-15 in their first-ever encounter.
The defending champions now await their next opponents, either Japan’s Hiroki Midorikawa-Kyohei Yamashita or Taiwan’s Chiu Hsiang Chieh-Wang Chi-Lin.
Meanwhile, fellow Malaysians Nur Mohd Azriyn Ayub-Tan Wee Kiong staged an impressive comeback against France’s Christo Popov-Toma Junior Popov, winning 13-21, 21-17, 21-19 in a thrilling 58-minute match.
In contrast, Malaysia’s women’s doubles pair Ong Xin Yee-Carmen Ting struggled against Japan’s sixth seeds Rin Iwanaga-Kie Nakanishi.
Despite a strong start with a 21-17 first-game win, Xin Yee-Carmen lost momentum, eventually falling 8-21, 8-21 in the following sets. – Bernama