KUALA LUMPUR, July 4 — The national men’s doubles pair of Goh Sze Fei-Nur Izzuddin Rumsani wants to ensure that their mental strength peaks out for the Malaysian Masters (Super 500) at the Axiata Arena in Bukit Jalil which starts tomorrow.
The 12th-ranked pair in the world acknowledged that it was the factor that cost them a tilt at the title at the Malaysian Open held at the same venue recently, after Fajar Alfian-Muhammad Rian Ardianto of Indonesia made short shrift of them in the semi-finals.
“We should focus more on mental resilience...we have discussed this with the coaches about our situation and hope we can play better in the Malaysian Masters,” said Sze Fei after a training session here today.
Last Saturday, the 2022 German Open champion pair lost in the semi-finals of the Malaysian Open to Fajar-Rian Ardianto 14-21, 12-21 in a swift 37-minute bout.
The national doubles pair is scheduled to face their nemesis again, world seventh-ranked Fajar-Muhammad Rian Ardianto, in the first round of the Malaysia Masters tomorrow.
Nur Izzuddin also agreed with Sze Fei, while admitting that he needed to be more aggressive and not dwell too much on the opponent’s performance.
He said while on court, they need to help each other to maintain their mental strength at the highest level. — Bernama
