Sze Fei-Nur Izzuddin beat Chinese pair for maiden title

Sze Fei-Nur Izzuddin beat Chinese pair for maiden title

Malaysians triumph in three-game final at the German Open.

Goh Sze Fei-Nur Izzuddin Rumsani on the winners’ rostrum after emerging victorious in Germany. (Twitter pic)
KUALA LUMPUR:
Men’s pair Goh Sze Fei-Nur Izzuddin Rumsani beat China’s Liu Yu Chen-Ou Xuan Yi to claim their first BWF World Tour title at the German Open yesterday.

Sze Fei and Nur Izzuddin saved two game points at 20-19 and 21-20 before staging a comeback to seal the first game 23-21.

However, a series of mistakes proved costly as they crumbled 21-16 in the next game.

In the decider, Sze Fei and Nur Izzuddin regained their composure to dominate from start to finish, winning 21-14 to take their maiden title.

This was the first final in five years for the Malaysians, ranked world No 17.

The last time they reached a final was in the 2017 Malaysian Masters, where they finished runners-up to Berry Angriawan-Hardianto of Indonesia.

The win will give Sze Fei and Nur Izzuddin confidence in their next competition – the prestigious All England in Birmingham – which starts Wednesday.

They will take on He Ji Ting-Tan Qiang of China in the first round of the world’s oldest badminton tournament.

Kunlavut Vitidsarn of Thailand, who defeated national No 1 Lee Zii Jia in the last four, continued his fine form to clinch the men’s singles title earlier with a 21-18, 21-15 win over Lakshya Sen of India.

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