Sze Fei-Izzuddin stretch China’s world No. 3 pair before going down

PETALING JAYA: Men’s doubles pair Goh Sze Fei-Nur Izzudin Rumsani’s gallant run in the Macau Open has come to an end.

But the world No. 28 deserved a pat on the back for going down fighting.

In the semi-finals yesterday, Sze FeiIzzuddin battled hard before losing 16-21, 20-22 to world No. 3 Li Junhui-Liu Yuchen of China in 40 minutes.

The Malaysians went into the match knowing it would be a tall order against the 2018 world champions.

Even their teammates - Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik and Ong Yew Sin-Teo Ee Yi - have never beaten Junhui-Yuchen in all their previous four and seven meetings respectively.

Sze Fei-Izzuddin did show they were no pushovers against their fancied rivals, especially in the second game where they stormed back to level the contest twice from 7-11 and 13-16 before saving two match points at 18-20.

Izzuddin said the pair could have stretched Junhui-Yuchen to the rubber game had they been more composed in dealing with the crucial moments.

“We were too eager to go for the kill but ended up committing unnecessary errors. We should have been more patient,” lamented Izzuddin.

“That was a huge lesson but we’re going learn from it.

“Overall, we gave them a good fight ... whether speed, skills or power, I thought we were able to match them. They made lesser mistakes, that was the only difference.”

The defeat meant they failed in their third attempt to reach a final on the World Tour this season.

They also played in the last-four stage at the Thailand Masters in January and German Open in March.

Hoo Pang Ron-Cheah Yee See’s hopes of adding a second World Tour title to their earlier Hyderabad Open triumph in August were also dashed.

They gave a tough fight against Denmark Open semi-finalists Wang Chi-lin-Cheng Chiya of Taiwan before losing 12-21, 21-15, 20-22 in an energy-sapping 62-minute clash.

Despite being 8-13 down in the deciding game, Pang Ron-Yee See gave a spirited fight and saved a match point to force deuce at 20-20. But it was the Taiwanese pair who had the last laugh.

“I think we have really given our all in the match. We fought all the way although our opponents were leading comfortably in the third game.

“But I can’t say we’re satisfied either because we couldn’t finish strong to grab that two deciding points at deuce.”

The 21-year-old Pang Ron believes his twoyear partnership with Yee See is beginning to flourish.

“We can only get better. It’s now for us to build on the progress we made this year.

“With continuous hard work and backed by guidance from our coaches, I believe we can bring our game up by a notch and achieve even better results.”

Good fight: Goh Sze Fei (right) and nur Izzuddin rumsani lost in the semi-finals of the macau open yesterday.