SINGAPORE: It was a revenge match that fizzled out as national men's pair Goh Sze Fei-Izzuddin Rumsani were once again beaten by China's He Ji Ting-Ren Xiang Yu, falling in the quarter-final of the Singapore Open today.
World No. 14 Sze Fei-Izzuddin matched world No. 10 Ji Ting-Xiang Yu point for point in the deciding game, but a series of unforced errors during the crucial stages cost them dearly, leading to a 21-16, 9-21, 21-17 defeat.
A win against Ji Ting-Xiang Yu would have been a consolation of sorts for Sze Fei-Izzuddin, and Malaysian badminton as a whole.
The Chinese pair had clinched the winning point during China's 3-1 semi-final victory over Malaysia at the Thomas Cup Finals in Chengdu.
Sze Fei admitted they paid a heavy price due to a lapse in concentration when it mattered most.
"The match rhythm today was very fast-paced. It was a battle of speed and power, but in the end, we lost focus and committed a lot of unforced errors," lamented Sze Fei during a post-match interview.
"We need to learn from this and prepare ourselves to handle such tough situations better."
With the defeat, Izzuddin-Sze Fei failed in their bid to reach their first World Tour Super 750 semi-final since the Malaysia Open in 2022.
Also ousted were the national top mixed pair, Chen Tang Jie-Toh Ee Wei.
The world No. 9 went down fighting to South Korea's world champions Seo Seung Jae-Chae Yu Jung, losing 21-14, 21-18.
Tang Jie-Ee Wei looked set to force a decider at one point, but they had only themselves to blame after blowing a 15-9 lead in the second game and ultimately losing the match.
Tang Jie believes they had given their best.
"We already gave our best. The only thing we didn't do well was failing to hold on to the big lead in the second game," said Tang Jie.
"We made a lot of mistakes. We knew they changed their strategy and we knew what they were trying to do, but we couldn't win the points from them.
"We will turn our attention to the next tournament, the Indonesia Open next week, and hopefully, we will come back stronger."