KUALA LUMPUR — In sports, fate can sometimes be very cruel.
There were contrasting emotions for Malaysia’s men’s doubles pairs at the World Tour Finals in Hangzhou today.
While independent duo Goh Sze Fei and Nur Izzuddin Rumsani stunned two-time Olympic champions Lee Yang and Wang Chi-Lin of Chinese Taipei to secure a place in the semi-finals of the season-ending tournament, Malaysia’s top pair, Aaron Chia and Soh Wooi Yik, were eliminated following an unfortunate turn of events.
After a shaky start with a loss to Denmark’s Kim Astrup and Anders Skaarup Rasmussen on Wednesday, world number seven Sze Fei and Izzuddin bounced back to defeat Chinese Taipei’s Lee Jhe-Huei and Yang Po-Hsuan in their second Group A tie yesterday.
They then delivered a sensational performance to beat Lee Yang and Chi-Lin 24-22, 21-12, finishing second in the group and earning a semi-final spot.
Only the top two teams from each group advance to the last four.
Reflecting on their win, Sze Fei expressed his gratitude for the opportunity to play against badminton legends.
“We appreciate the chance to play with legends like Lee Yang and Chi-Lin one last time. There’s so much we can learn from them,” he said in an interview with the Badminton World Federation (BWF).
It is worth noting that Lee Yang had announced his retirement after the 2024 Paris Olympics but decided to reunite with Chi-Lin for one final appearance at the World Tour Finals.
Izzuddin, reflecting on their achievement, added, “I’m very proud to reach the semi-finals, but there’s still room for improvement. We need to stay focused.”
Meanwhile, in Group B, two-time Olympic bronze medallists Aaron and Wooi Yik started strongly with two impressive wins over China’s He Ji Ting and Ren Xiang Yu on Wednesday and Indonesia’s Fajar Alfian and Muhammad Rian Ardianto yesterday.
Technically, the world number fours had already secured their semi-final berth.
However, when Ji Ting and Xiang Yu withdrew from the tournament due to the latter’s injury, all previous results in Group B were nullified.
This meant Aaron and Wooi Yik had to win their final match against Indonesia’s Sabar Karyaman Gutama and Moh Reza Pahlevi Isfahani to progress.
Unfortunately, the Malaysians fell short, losing in straight games 21-16, 21-16, which allowed both Indonesian pairs to advance to the semi-finals.
Earlier in the day, Malaysia’s top men’s singles player, Lee Zii Jia, suffered heartbreak in his final Group A match against China’s Li Shi Feng.
Zii Jia, who was on track for the semi-finals after wins against Chinese Taipei’s Chou Tien Chen and Denmark’s Anders Antonsen, was forced to retire mid-match due to a right ankle injury.
He had been leading 22-20, 15-11 before he had to withdraw and was wheeled off the court. — December 13, 2024
