PETALING JAYA, Nov 22 — Malaysia’s men’s doubles duo, Goh Sze Fei and Nur Izzuddin Rumsani, were eliminated from the Li-Ning China Masters after a tightly contested quarter-final match today, Free Malaysia Today reported.
Ranked world No. 8, Sze Fei and Izzuddin fell 18-21, 21-19, 21-23 to Indonesia’s Sabar Karyaman Gutama and Moh Reza Pahlevi Isfahani in a 64-minute battle.
According to the report, the Indonesians, ranked world No. 13, will now face China’s second seeds Ren Xiang Yu and He Ji Ting, who had earlier defeated Malaysia’s top men’s doubles pair, Aaron Chia and Soh Wooi Yik.
Sze Fei and Izzuddin’s defeat marked the third Malaysian exit in the quarter-finals, following losses by Aaron-Wooi Yik and women’s doubles pair Pearly Tan and M. Thinaah earlier in the day.
Despite their elimination, Free Malaysia Today highlighted that Sze Fei and Izzuddin have already secured their place in the prestigious World Tour Finals (WTF) in Hangzhou, China, next month.
The WTF, offering a prize of US$210,000 (RM937,500) for doubles winners across all three categories, also provides significant ranking points.
Malaysia’s men’s singles player Lee Zii Jia, mixed doubles pairs Cheng Tang Jie-Toh Ee Wei and Goh Soon Huat-Shevon Lai, as well as Pearly-Thinaah in the women’s doubles, have also qualified for the event.
