Current Malaysian world No. 1 pair face India's former world No. 1 in blockbuster

New Straits Times

6 days ago

KUALA LUMPUR: Goh Sze Fei-Nur Izzuddin Rumsani are riding high on confidence, but they know the hard work is far from over.
The newly crowned world No. 1 men's doubles are bracing for a blockbuster quarter-final clash at the Singapore Open against India's Satwiksairaj Rankireddy-Chirag Shetty, in what promises to be a riveting battle between the present and former holders of the top spot.
Sze Fei-Izzuddin marched into the last eight in commanding fashion on Thursday, brushing aside former national teammates Wan Arif Junaidi-Yap Roy King 21-13, 21-11 to continue their perfect run this week without dropping a game.
Satwiksairaj-Chirag had to dig deep to advance after a gritty 19-21, 21-16, 21-19 victory over Indonesia's world No. 8 Sabar Karyaman Gutama-Moh Reza Pahlevi Isfahani.
Despite their dominant start in Singapore, Izzuddin felt they are far from their peak.
"Everything else we can still do much better," said Izzuddin. "We're happy to be winning, but there's still plenty of room for improvement."
They'll need to find another gear on Friday, given their head-to-head record against Satwiksairaj-Chirag, having won just twice in eight meetings.
However, the Malaysians did win their most recent encounter in the semi-finals of the India Open earlier this year, a result they'll be eager to repeat.
Their opponents are no pushovers. Satwiksairaj-Chirag, now ranked world No. 7, are former world No. 1 who made history as India's first men's shuttlers to reach the top of the rankings following their landmark gold medal triumph at the Asian Games in Hangzhou in October 2023.
Although a string of injuries since the Paris Olympics hampered their consistency, the Indian duo, coached by former Malaysian international Tan Kim Her, have still managed to rack up strong results.
These include semi-final finishes at the China Masters last November, as well as both the Malaysia Open and India Open earlier this year.
They may have relinquished the No. 1 ranking for now, but with a combined 18 weeks at the summit, Satwiksairaj-Chirag remain one of the most formidable pairs on the World Tour.