After putting up a commendable first, Malaysian men’s doubles pair Goh Sze Fei and Nur Izzuddin unfortunately lost the final match at the Badminton World Federation (BWF) World Tour Finals. However, the two shuttlers have something else to celebrate – their new ranking as Malaysia’s No.1 men’s doubles.
According to new reports, Sze Fei and Izzuddin, known more fondly as the FeiDin pair, have recently overtaken Olympic medalists Aaron Chia and Soh Wooi Yik in the BWF world rankings. The independent pair have jumped four places and will now rank world No.3 when the rankings are updated tomorrow (17th December 2024, Tuesday). This new rank is the pair’s highest in their career, jumping from their previous rank of No.7.
Sze Fei and Izzuddin’s current rank comes after a successful season, including winning second place in the recent BWF World Tour Finals in Hangzhou. While the duo ultimately lost to Denmark’s Kim Anstrup-Anders Skaarup Rasmussen in a 65-minute match, the pair made a commendable comeback in the second game after losing the first. Following the match, the pair took home the prize money of US$100,000 (approximately RM443,000).
Another Malaysian pair that claimed the runner-up place at the WTF was mixed doubles pair Chen Tang Jie and Toh Ee Wei. The duo was also the first Malaysian mixed doubles pair to reach the finals in the season-ender since the tournament’s inception. On the other hand, the Aaron Chia-Wooi Yik and Pearly-Thinaah pairs failed to advance past the group stage of their respective categories. Meanwhile, shuttler Lee Zii Jia withdrew from the tournament due to an ankle injury.
Congratulations to the Sze Fei-Izzuddin and Tang Jie-Ee Wei pairs on their wins! Both pairs will compete next in the Malaysian Open, from 7th to 12th January 2025, at the Axiata Arena in Bukit Jalil.
Sources: Siakap Keli, Twitter, The Star (1)(2)
