Yokohama: Malaysia’s World No. 12 men’s doubles pair, Goh Sze Fei/Nur Izzuddin, stunned the world champions from South Korea, Kang Min Hyuk/Seo Seung Jae in the 2024 Japan Open final on Sunday.
The 21-19, 21-15 victory over Kang Min Hyuk/Seo Seung Jae in this Super 750 tournament gave Goh/Izzuddin a sweet revenge over the Korean pair after losing to Kang/Seo in the final of the Badminton Asia Championships in April.
Highlights of Goh Sze Fei/Nur Izzuddin vs. Kang Min Hyuk/Seo Seung Jae in the 2024 Japan Open final:
The first set was pretty intense, with Goh/Izzuddin initially leading before being overtaken by the world’s 4th-ranked Korean pair midway through the game.
At one point, Kang/Seo took the lead at 11-8, but Goh/Izzuddin mounted a comeback before the Korean pair managed to level the score at 15-15.
Both pairs exchanged points until Goh/Izzuddin accelerated their game to secure the set with a 21-19 win.
In the second set, Goh/Izzuddin continued their momentum, leading 11-8 early on.
They further widened the gap before sealing the match with a 21-15 victory, taking home a prize of US$62,900 (RM274,000).
For the record, the last time a Malaysian men’s doubles pair won the Japan Open was in 2002 through the combination of Chan Chong Ming and Chew Choon Eng.
On Saturday, the Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) confirmed that they had received Goh/Izzuddin’s application to turn professional starting September 1st.
In women’s doubles, the No. 2 seeds Liu Sheng Shu/Tan Ning of China pulled off an upset to down No. 1 seeds Baek Ha Na/Lee So Hee of Korea 21-18, 22-20, while China won another title on Sunday in the mixed doubles event when Jiang Zhen Bang/Wei Ya Xin overcame Tang Chun Man/Tse Ying Suet of Hong Kong 21-12, 21-12 in the final.
