Latest news with #Seung-jae-Won-ho
The Star
20-07-2025
- Sport
- The Star
Sze Fei-Izzuddin miss chance to make history, set to lose world No. 1 ranking
PETALING JAYA: It was a double blow for shuttlers Goh Sze Fei-Nur Izzuddin Rumsani after the duo missed out on their second consecutive Japan Open title and are also set to lose their world No. 1 ranking. Yesterday (July 19), Sze Fei-Izzuddin went down 16-21, 17-21 to South Korean hotshots Seo Seung-jae-Kim Won-ho in the final at the Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium. Seung-jae-Won-ho, who are currently ranked No. 3 in the world, would also officially take over from Sze Fei-Izzuddin as the new world No. 1 pair when the rankings list updates tomorrow (July 21). The independent pair were hoping to become the first Malaysians in the men's doubles to win the title in Japan more than once, but found the Koreans too hot to handle and lost out in a fast-paced match lasting just 38 minutes. Sze Fei admitted that Seung-jae-Won-ho were the better pair on the day. "The Koreans are very fast. We tried to catch up with them, but they were just too good," said Sze Fei, in a post-match interview with the Badminton World Federation (BWF). "We had nothing to prove against them. We just wanted to play our best and enjoy the game." It was Sze Fei-Izzuddin's second defeat to Seung-jae-Won-ho in three meetings after also coming up second best to the latter in the All-England second round in March. The Malaysians' sole victory over the high-flying Koreans so far came in the Indian Open final in January. Seung-jae-Won-ho have established themselves as the pair to beat this year as they added the Japan Open crown to their titles in the All-England, Malaysian Open, German Open and Indonesian Open. The 27-year-old Seung-jae also gained sweet revenge over Sze Fei-Izzuddin after losing to the latter in the final in Japan last year with former partner Kang Min-hyuk. Sze Fei-Izzuddin, though, can take heart that this is their best showing this year since their triumph at the Indian Open. The pair had made it to their first final since the win in India after failing to reach the last four in all their other outings this year. Sze Fei-Izzuddin are now looking to bounce back quickly in the China Open, which starts tomorrow in Changzhou. The duo are hoping to defend their title in China and snatch back their No. 1 ranking from Seung-jae-Won-ho. "We will prepare ourselves better next time and just focus on ourselves," said Izzuddin.
The Star
14-07-2025
- Sport
- The Star
Challenge for Malaysians to end hot streak of fresh Korean duo
PETALING JAYA: South Korean men's doubles hotshots Seo Seung-jae-Kim Won-ho seem unstoppable in major tournaments but can Malaysians end their hot streak? Seung-jae-Won-ho, who only combined at the beginning of this year, have already clinched three World Tour Super 1000 titles so far at the Malaysian Open, Indonesian Open and All-England. And they can add another in the Super 1000 China Open next week but first, they will compete in the Super 750 Japan Open starting today. The Malaysians have stopped them on their track thrice this year but in lower-tiered tournaments. Professional shuttlers Goh Sze Fei-Nur Izzuddin Rumsani have knocked them out in the Indian Open (Super 750), and former world champions Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik ousted them in the Singapore Open (Super 750). Having reached every final so far, the Koreans will be a tough nut to crack. And Seung-jae-Won-ho's stunning form has also seen them rise to No. 3 in the world and are only behind Sze Fei-Izzuddin (No. 1) and Aaron-Wooi Yik (No. 2) in the rankings. Their main goal is to win the title at the World Championships from Aug 25-31 in Paris and the Malaysian pairs will need to be at their best to stop the duo from dominating in the next three tourneys. In the Japan Open, second seeds Aaron-Wooi Yik are likely to take on third seeds Seung-jae-Won-ho in a mouthwatering semi-final clash if both pairs justify their respective seedings. Aaron-Wooi Yik have been in fine form themselves since April, capturing the Asian Championships, Thailand Open along with the Singapore Open and finishing runners-up to world No. 7 teammates Man Wei Chong-Tee Kai Wun in the Malaysian Masters. Aaron-Wooi Yik will first need to overcome fellow Malaysians Ong Yew Sin-Teo Ee Yi in their opening match. A win will likely see them play Japan's Kenya Mitsuhashi-Hiroki Okamura in the second round and if they make it into the last eight, they could face a more difficult test against either China's Paris Olympics silver medallists Liang Weikeng-Wang Chang or India's 2022 Asian Games champions Satwiksairaj Rankireddy-Chirag Shetty. Meanwhile, Sze Fei-Izzuddin, who are also the defending champions, should have little trouble getting past Canada's Kevin Lee-Ty Alexander in the first round. A trickier test, however, awaits them in the second round against either Japan's Hiroki Midorikawa-Kyohei Yamashita or Taiwan's Wang Chi-lin-Chiu Hsiang-chieh. In other opening men's doubles matches involving Malaysians, Wei Chong-Kai Wun will meet teammates Yap Roy King-Wan Arif Wan Junaidi while French brothers Christo Popov-Toma Junior Popov stand in the way of Tan Wee Kiong-Nur Mohd Azriyn Ayub.
