[Watch] The Racquet Hit The Floor, So Did Malaysia’s All-Final Dream

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It was a day of near-misses and raw emotions at the Unifi Arena in Bukit Jalil — and Malaysian badminton fans will have to settle for cheering one home pair instead of two in Sunday’s Malaysia Masters men’s doubles final.

Goh Sze Fei-Nur Izzuddin Rumsani are one win away from redeeming a heartbreak that has lingered since 2017, after defeating compatriots Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik 21-18, 21-12 in a tense 33-minute all-Malaysian semi-final on Saturday.

But hopes of an all-Malaysian final were dashed in the other semi-final, where Wan Arif Wan Junaidi-Yap Roy King fell to Denmark’s Daniel Lundgaard-Mads Vestergaard 19-21, 17-21 in 48 minutes — a result few saw coming, given that Arif-Roy King had a perfect 4-0 winning record over the Danish pair heading into the match.

World No. 7 Sze Fei-Izzuddin were the steadier pair throughout their semi-final, with Aaron’s frustration boiling over midway through the first game when he flung his racquet and was cautioned by the umpire.

Despite going in as favourites with a 6-2 head-to-head advantage over Sze Fei-Izzuddin, Aaron-Wooi Yik could not hold it together when it mattered.

“I think we weren’t patient enough. We made too many mistakes towards the end, and that gave them more confidence to take advantage of us,” said Aaron.

Their gameplay was more solid and consistent today. They each understood their roles well, while we made too many mistakes, which made things easier for them.

Redemption on The Line

Izzuddin, for his part, was measured in victory — crediting the result more to Aaron-Wooi Yik’s struggles than his own pair’s brilliance.

We may have beaten Aaron-Wooi Yik today, but it does not mean we are better. I believe they were dealing with too much pressure. I think they weren’t at their best, and possibly, calmness helped us.

For Sze Fei-Izzuddin, Sunday’s final carries personal weight; the pair reached the Malaysia Masters final back in 2017, only to lose to Indonesia’s Berry Angriyawan-Hardianto.

Nine years on, they have another shot — and they are not taking it lightly.

“We hope we can redeem that loss from 2017,” said Izzuddin.

The pair are also riding the momentum of their Super 500 Indonesia Masters title in January, making Sunday a chance at their second title of the year.

Standing in their way are Lundgaard-Vestergaard, who ended Arif-Roy King’s hopes of a home final with a composed straight-games win, all the more surprising given that the Malaysians had never lost to the Danish pair in four previous meetings.

Arif-Roy King Apologises To Fans

Arif-Roy King’s defeat was a surprise on paper — but on court, the Malaysians simply could not find their footing against a Danish pair that played with confidence throughout.

“First of all, I want to apologise to all our supporters because we could not win today. We really wanted to win, but our opponents played better than we did,” said Arif.

After the match, we discussed it, and I think today’s defeat came down to our energy. Maybe our energy dropped. Hopefully, we can recover and come back stronger at the Singapore Open next week.

Both Aaron-Wooi Yik and Arif-Roy King will shift focus quickly — the Singapore Open begins on Tuesday, where Aaron-Wooi Yik face the added pressure of defending their Super 750 crown against South Korean world No. 1 Kim Won Ho-Seo Seung Jae.

The Malaysia Masters men’s doubles final between Sze Fei-Izzuddin and Lundgaard-Vestergaard takes place on Sunday (24 May).

Parts of this story have been sourced from The Star and NST.

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[Watch] The Racquet Hit The Floor, So Did Malaysia’s All-Final Dream