21/07/2025

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MONDAY | JULY 21, 2025

Malaysian Paper

FROM LEFT: South Korea’s Kim Won ho, Seo Seung-jae, Malaysia’s Goh Sze Fei and Nur Izzuddin pose on the podium after their men’s doubles final match. – AFPPIC

No joy in Tokyo

Sze Fei-Nur Izzuddin fail to retain title, Chinese pair denies Pearly-Thinaah Japan Open glory

P ROFESSIONAL men’s doubles pair Goh Sze Fei-Nur Izzuddin Rumsani were denied back-to-back Japan Open titles after falling to South Korea’s Kim Won Ho Seo Seung Jae in the 2025 edition final in Tokyo yesterday. Playing at the Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium, the world No. 1 Malaysians were outgunned in the opening game, losing 16-21, as they struggled to cope with the Koreans’ aggressive pace and sharp attacks. Sze Fei-Nur Izzuddin then responded strongly in the early stage of the second game, taking a 4-1 lead. However, their rhythm faltered after the interval, allowing the world No. 3 to claw back and level at 14-14 before slipping behind for the first time at 14-15. From there, Won Ho-Seung Jae never looked back, sealing victory at 21-17 to claim their fifth title of the year in just 38 minutes. Speaking after the match, Sze Fei admitted that their opponents were simply too hot to handle. “They were very fast. We tried to keep up, but they were just too good,” he said in an audio recording shared by the Badminton World Federation with the media. Nur Izzuddin, on the other hand, vowed to come back stronger in future tournaments. Sze Fei-Nur Izzuddin will next compete in the China Open 2025, which will run from tomorrow until July 27. Earlier, Pearly Tan-M. Thinaah stumbled in their bid to become the first Malaysian women’s doubles pair to land the Japan Open title, falling to world No. 1 Liu Sheng Shu-Tan Ning of China yesterday.

The Super 750 final at the Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium began on level terms, with both pairs locked at 6-6. However, the top-seeded and defending champions Sheng Shu-Tan Ning soon took control, ramping up the pressure to pull ahead 19 10 before closing out the first game 21-15. Sheng Shu-Tan Ning picked up right where they left off in the second game, storming to a 4-0 lead and stretching it to 14-7 before winning at 21 14 to retain the title in 45 minutes. The defeat dashed Pearly-Thinaah’s hopes of avenging last month’s Indonesia Open final loss to the same opponents, where they went down 25 23, 12-21, 19-21. Yesterday’s result also marked Pearly Thinaah’s ninth defeat in 12 meetings against Sheng Shu-Tan Ning. Thinaah said they crumbled under the pressure from Sheng Shu-Tan Ning. “It wasn’t the game we wanted to play. We’ll learn from this, refocus and prepare for next week,” she said in a statement issued by the Badminton Association of Malaysia. Pearly-Thinaah will continue the season in the China Open 2025, where the third seeds are slated to meet fellow Malaysians Ong Xin Yee-Carmen Ting in the first round at the Olympic Sports Centre Gymnasium in Changzhou. The world No. 3 pair also matched the achievement of Malaysian legends Wong Pei Tty Chin Eei Hui, who were runners-up in the Japan Open 2008 edition. The 2022 Commonwealth Games champions have had a good season so far, capturing the Thailand Open title in May and finishing second at the Indonesia Masters in January. – Bernama

Spellbinding Usyk

- Story on page 28

China’s Liu Shengshu (top left), Malaysia’s Thinaah Muralitharan, Pearly Tan (bottom left) and Tan Ning pose on the podium after their women’s doubles final match. – AFPPIC

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