Seoul: Malaysia’s Goh Sze Fei and Nur Izzuddin could not sustain their momentum of winning the Japan Open last Sunday, as they were knocked out in the first round of the 2024 Korea Open on Wednesday.
Goh/Izzuddin were defeated by fellow countrymen Choong Hon Jian/Muhammad Haikal, 21-13, 16-21, 16-21, after a fierce 55-minute battle.
Highlights of Goh Sze Fei/Nur Izzuddin vs. Choong Hon Jian/Muhammad Haikal in the 2024 Korea Open first round:
Choong and Haikal, currently ranked 19th in the world, will next face South Korea’s top-seeded pair and world champions Kang Min Hyuk and Seo Seung Jae, who advanced to the second round after defeating Taiwan’s Lin Bing-Wei/Su Ching Heng 21-13, 22-20.
Last week’s Japan Open Super 750 champions in both men’s and women’s singles, Alex Lanier and Akane Yamaguchi, also faced early exits in the Korea Open. China’s world No. 1 Shi Yuqi will not have a chance to exact revenge against Lanier in the Korea Open second round as Lanier was defeated by Hong Kong’s Angus Ng Ka Long in a close three-set match with the score 20-22, 21-14, 21-23. Shi lost to Lanier in the Japan Open semifinals last Saturday.
Malaysia’s sole men’s singles representative, Leong Jun Hao, who defeated Japan’s Takuma Obayashi in the first round of the Japan Open last week, was avenged by Obayashi this week, losing 20-22, 14-21 in the first round.
In the women’s singles, top seed Akane Yamaguchi, who recently claimed her fourth Japan Open title last Sunday, suffered a shocking 17-21, 18-21 defeat to Hong Kong’s world No. 47 Happy Lo Sin Yan, causing an early exit from the Korea Open.
This means that last week’s Japan Open champions in men’s singles (Alex Lanier), women’s singles (Akane Yamaguchi), and men’s doubles (Goh Sze Fei/Nur Izzuddin) all exited the Korea Open in the first round.
Lo will face Taipei’s Lin Hsiang Ti in the second round. Other players advancing to the women’s singles second round include China’s No. 2 seed Wang Zhiyi, No. 3 seed Han Yue, Thailand’s No. 6 seed Busanan Ongbamrungphan, and Korea’s No. 7 seed Kim Ga Eun.
