Changzhou: Malaysia’s World No. 12 men’s doubles pair Goh Sze Fei/Nur Izzuddin displayed great sportsmanship by refraining from celebrating after their victory at the China Open final on Sunday.
Goh/Izzuddin secured their first BWF Super 1000 World Tour title by defeating the home team’s fifth seeds, He Ji Ting and Ren Xiang Yu, with a score of 13-21, 21-12, 21-17 in the final at the Changzhou Olympic Sports Center.
Highlights of Goh Sze Fei/Nur Izzuddin vs. He Ji Ting/Ren Xiang Yu in the 2024 China Open final:
However, the pair’s historic victory was overshadowed by an injury sustained by Ren Xiang Yu at the end of the first set, requiring courtside treatment.
Goh Sze Fei commented that this was not how they had hoped to win their biggest title yet.
“This isn’t the way we wanted to win. I wish Xiang Yu a speedy recovery,” Goh Sze Fei told the Badminton World Federation (BWF).
This victory makes Goh Sze Fei/Nur Izzuddin the first Malaysian men’s doubles pair to win a Super 1000 title. Previously, only men’s singles player Lee Zii Jia had won a Super 1000 title under the BWF World Tour since its introduction in 2018, having claimed the All-England title in 2021.
This achievement also ends Malaysia’s 35-year drought in the men’s doubles category at the China Open, with the last victory being by the legendary pair Jalani Sidek and Razif Sidek in 1989.
This marks Goh Sze Fei/Nur Izzuddin’s second title of the season, following their triumph at the Japan Open last month.
As champions, Goh/Izzuddin will take home a cash prize of USD 148,000 (RM 622,361), while runners-up He Ji Ting and Ren Xiang Yu will receive USD 70,000 (RM 294,360).
Meanwhile, Malaysia’s World No. 12 mixed doubles pair, Goh Soon Huat/Shevon Jemie Lai, admitted to having mixed feelings after missing out on their first Super 1000 title at the China Open final.
The husband-and-wife duo had to accept defeat in a three-set battle against the home favorites and second seeds, Feng Yan Zhe and Huang Dong Ping, losing 21-16, 14-21, 17-21 in the final.
Despite the loss, Shevon Lai expressed satisfaction with their achievement of reaching the final of a Super 1000 event.
She said there were many valuable lessons they could take from the experience, particularly the spirit of never giving up.
“I have mixed emotions, but I’m very satisfied with today’s performance. Even though we lost, we gave our best.”
“Soon Huat worked incredibly hard, covering every inch of the court. Although we won the first set, which gave us some confidence, the opponents bounced back in the second set, and in the third set, we fell behind quite a bit.”
“One positive thing is that we never gave up. Even though there were a few misunderstandings, we were still able to help each other,” Shevon Lai told BWF.
In men’s singles, China’s men’s singles player, Weng Hong Yang, ended an 11-month international title drought by defeating Japan’s Kodai Naraoka in straight sets 21-17, 21-12, to claim the China Open title.
This marks Weng Hong Yang’s first international title since winning the Denmark Open last October, and he became the first men’s singles player from China to win the China Open since Chen Long in 2017.
In the women’s singles, China’s Wang Zhiyi claimed her fourth title of the year by defeating Japan’s Tomoka Miyazaki 21-17, 21-15, becoming the first women’s singles champion from China to win the China Open since Li Xuerui in 2015.
Meanwhile, the women’s doubles final, which was an all-China showdown, saw Li Yi Jing and Luo Xu Min, ranked 18th in the world, come from behind to defeat their compatriots Li Wen Mei and Zhang Shu Xian 11-21, 21-18, 21-8, marking the pair’s first Super 1000 title together.
