Holding on tight
No letting up: Goh Sze Fei-Nur Izzuddin Rumsani will be out to raise their game since capturing the Indian Open title in January.
PETALING JAYA: Men's doubles shuttlers Goh Sze Fei-Nur Izzuddin Rumsani face a fight to maintain their world No. 1 ranking.
In the latest rankings list updated yesterday, as expected, Sze Fei-Izzuddin officially overtook Denmark's Kim Astrup-Anders Skaarup Rasmussen to reach the coveted top spot for the first time in their careers after the latter failed to defend their Malaysian Masters title.
The gap between No. 1 and No. 2 though is very close with the independent pair having 91,090 points while the Danish duo have 90,411 points.
The narrow gap means Sze Fei-Izzuddin have no margin for error and need to perform well in the back-to-back Singapore Open and Indonesian Open or risk dropping to No. 2.
The Malaysians will be out to raise their game after struggling for form since capturing the Indian Open title in January.
Sze Fei-Izzuddin suffered early round exits in the All-England and Swiss Open in March before improving slightly to progress to the quarter-finals in the Asian Championships last month and Malaysian Masters last week.
The duo's form lately is a far cry from the high standards they reached last year where they captured the China Open, Japan Open and Arctic Open titles and finished runners-up in the World Tour Finals and Asian meet.
This year, Sze Fei-Izzuddin have been overshadowed by fellow Malaysians Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik and Man Wei Chong-Tee Kai Wun.
World No. 3 Aaron-Wooi Yik, who were overtaken as the national No. 1 by Sze Fei-Izzuddin at the end of last year, have responded brilliantly by winning the Asian title and the Thailand Open earlier this month.
World No. 7 Wei Chong-Kai Wun have also showed their capabilities by claiming the Indonesian Masters and Malaysian Masters crowns.
Now, it's Sze Fei-Izzuddin's turn to rise to the challenge and keep hold of the No. 1 spot.
The pair are the first Malaysians in the men's doubles to reach the top spot since Goh V Shem-Tan Wee Kiong achieved the feat in 2016.
In the Singapore Open, Sze Fei-Izzuddin will open their campaign today against Taiwan's world No. 20 Lee Fang-chih-Lee Fang-jen.
Meanwhile, Aaron-Wooi Yik, who finished runners-up to Wei Chong-Kai Wun in the Malaysian tourney, have a tricky opening task against Denmark's world No. 16 Rasmus Kjaer-Frederk Sogaard.
Wei Chong-Kai Wun will play Taiwan's world No. 27 Chen Zhi-ray-Lin Yu-chieh for a place in the second round.
The other Malaysian men's doubles pairs in the fray are Yap Roy King-Wan Arif Wan Junaidi, Mohd Haikal Nazri-Choong Hon Jian and Ong Yew Sin-Teo Ee Yi.
In the men's singles, world No. 25 Leong Jun Hao, who is the country's sole representative, will face China's world No. 27 Lei Lanxi in the first round.
In the women's doubles, world No. 4 Pearly Tan-M. Thinaah will be looking to get off to a winning start against Hong Kong's world No. 32 Lui Lok Lok-Tsang Hiu Yan.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Star
24 minutes ago
- The Star
Kuching marathon to showcase capital's colonial and cultural charm
THE 10th edition of the Kuching Marathon (KM2025), scheduled for Sept 21, will offer participants an illuminating journey through Kuching's rich cultural and colonial heritage. Sarawak Youth, Sports and Enterpreneur Development Minister Datuk Seri Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah said KM2025 aims to strengthen Kuching's presence on the world map by promoting the city as a hub for sports, recreation and tourism, while fostering a healthy lifestyle. 'Among the highlights of this year's edition is the improved 42km full marathon race route, offering runners a more scenic course. 'For the first time, all participants who complete their race within the cut-off time, including those in the 10km and 5km categories, will receive a finisher's T-shirt. 'This is in addition to the event T-shirt and a specially designed finisher's medal,' he told Bernama. Abdul Karim said to date, KM2025 has attracted a total of 7,822 registered runners, comprising 6,719 Malaysians and 1,103 international participants. He added that most of the local runners are from Sarawak, while foreign participants hail from countries like Brunei, Canada, China, Ghana, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, the Maldives, the Netherlands, the Philippines, Singapore, South Africa, Thailand, Vietnam and the United Kingdom. KM2025 is a distance running road race event consisting of Kuching Full Marathon (42km), Kuching Half Marathon (21km), Kuching 10km run and Kuching 5km run. It is an international road race recognised by Association of International Marathons and Distance Races (AIMS) as listed in the AIMS Race Calendar at
The Star
an hour ago
- The Star
Tze Yong's injury an issue for Jonassen in plan to assemble strong Thomas Cup squad
PETALING JAYA: National singles coaching director Kenneth Jonassen is fully aware that the injury to his charge, Ng Tze Yong, could disrupt his plans to assemble the strongest line-up for the 2026 Thomas Cup. Although the tournament in Horsens, Denmark, is still about a year away, scheduled for April or May, Jonassen knows time is running short to build a formidable men's singles squad capable of mounting a strong challenge at the prestigious team competition. What makes the task even more daunting is his own admission that it would take a near miracle for any up-and-coming player to impress him enough to earn a spot in the Thomas Cup squad. At present, the men's singles squad comprise just five players, among them Leong Jun Hao, Justin Hoh, Eogene Ewe and young talent Kong Zhou Swin, who was recently promoted to the senior team. As such, Jonassen and the singles coaching team are focused on sharpening the skills of these existing players to ensure they are able to compete with the top names in the sport. 'Now, the injury to Tze Yong obviously affects things a little, but we'll see. Overall, I'm working towards a goal where we can produce a line-up that's capable of challenging the best. 'Of course, purely based on world rankings, we're not at the level of the top nations. They are ranked much higher, and unless we do something spectacular over the next eight to 10 months, we won't surpass them in the rankings. 'With less than 12 months to go before this major championship, I would be very surprised if a junior player could make the kind of progress needed to perform at that level. So we'll be coming in as underdogs. But for me, it's about being able to deliver a strong performance, and potentially that crucial win, on the day it matters most,' said Jonassen. At the same time, Jonassen is not ready to disclose the details of Tze Yong's injury, despite rumours that the 25-year-old suffered an anterior cruciate ligament injury during his first-round match against Angus Ng Ka Long at the Malaysian Masters two weeks ago. It is a tough situation for Tze Yong, who only made his return in April after a year-long break due to a back injury. The injury sustained by Tze Yong has forced him to withdraw from last week's Singapore Open and this week's Indonesian Open.
The Star
an hour ago
- The Star
Wei Chong gains from time on sidelines with coach Herry
Lessons learned: Man Wei Chong (left) and Tee Kai Wun will play compatriots Yap Roy King-Wan Arif Wan Junaidi or France's Eloi Adam-Leo Rossi in the Indonesian Open second round. PETALING JAYA: Man Wei Chong may not have featured in the Singapore Open final last week, but the men's doubles shuttler still came away with invaluable lessons that could serve him well at this week's Indonesian Open. While Malaysians celebrated Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik's title-winning feat, Wei Chong quietly made his own gains after being given the rare opportunity to soak up the experience from the sidelines beside national men's doubles coach Herry Iman Pierngadi. It turned out to be a priceless experience for the 25-year-old, who witnessed first-hand how Herry broke down the game and delivered crucial advice to Aaron-Wooi Yik. He also had a front-row seat to observe how the Olympic bronze medallists handled the pressure during critical moments against South Korea's Kim Won-ho-Seo Seung-jae. That brief but insightful stint on the bench could prove timely as Wei Chong reunites with partner Tee Kai Wun for the Indonesian Open, which got underway yesterday. As last year's runners-up, they made a confident start to their campaign with a commanding 21-6, 21-11 win over the United States' Chen Zhi Yi and Presley Smith in the opening round. 'We're happy to be back at Istora Senayan and we hope to do well in this tournament,' said Wei Chong in an interview with BWF. They have also put behind them their title-winning run at the Malaysian Masters two weeks ago, where they edged Aaron-Wooi Yik in a hard-fought final. 'I think the Malaysian Masters is behind us. This is a new week, and we need to keep learning from the top players. Hopefully, we can put in a strong performance,' he added. Awaiting them in the second round are either compatriots Yap Roy King-Wan Arif Wan Junaidi or France's Eloi Adam-Leo Rossi, who will square off in another first-round clash.
