Pang Ron-Su Yin, ranked world No 23, who had beaten two higher-ranked pairs en route to the final, lost narrowly to Feng Yan Zhe-Huang Dong Ping 23-21, 23-25, 16-21 in a marathon match lasting 92 minutes.

Pang Ron-Su Yin pocketed US$40,250 (RM179,832) while Yan Zhe-Dong Ping took home US$85,100 (RM380,217) in the Super 750 event.

It was the Malaysian pair’s best performance since they started partnering a year ago, and their second loss in two encounters against the Chinese duo.

In the opening game, Pang Ron-Su Yin surprised the world No 2 Chinese pair by coming from behind to force a deuce, before winning 23-21.

The second game saw Yan Zhe-Dong Ping take an early 6-2 lead, but despite trailing all the way, Pang Ron-Su Yin caught up to force a deuce three times after levelling at 20-20.

They even had a match point in hand on one occasion but lost it to Yan Zhe-Dong Ping, who went on to win the game 25-23 to force a decider.

The Chinese pair led all the way in the third game, winning 21-16 to close the match.

Pang Ron, 26, has been playing with other partners before teaming up with Su Yin, 21, about a year ago.

Their victories in the China Masters included those against China’s world No 3 pair Jiang Zhen Bang-Wei Ya Xin in the quarter-finals, and Hong Kong’s world No 7 pair Wang Chun Man-Tse Ying Suet in the semi-finals.

The points they earned in this tournament are expected to push them up several notches in the BWF rankings, which will be announced after the conclusion of the China Masters.