KUALA LUMPUR: National No. 2 men's pair Goh Sze Fei-Nur Izzuddin Rumsani advanced to the semi-finals of the Japan Open on Friday, staying on course for their biggest career victory.
World No. 12 Sze Fei-Izzuddin upset world No. 6 Fajar Alfian-Muhammad Rian Ardianto 21-16, 10-21, 21-16 at the Yokohama Arena in Kanagawa.
The win was significant for Sze Fei-Izzuddin, given their poor record against the former world No. 1 Indonesians, having lost eight of their nine previous encounters.
"We just tried to focus on our own game. I think our opponents were not in their best form either," said Sze Fei.
"Credit goes to Izzuddin; he played really well today."
The result marks a breakthrough for Sze Fei-Izzuddin, who finally surpassed the quarter-final stage on the World Tour in their fourth attempt.
They were quarter-finalists in their last three starts - Malaysia Masters, Singapore Open, and Indonesia Open.
This is only the third time they have reached the semi-finals in a Super 750 event or higher, following the Denmark Open Super 1000 in 2021 and Malaysia Open Super 750 in 2022.
Sze Fei-Izzuddin will face Indonesia's Leo Rolly Carnando-Bagas Maulana or Japan's Kenya Mitsuhashi-Hiroki Okamura in Saturday's semi-finals.
Their biggest titles to date are the German Open in 2022 and last year's US Open, both Super 300-rated events.
Izzuddin believes they need to improve further to win the title.
"We're happy with our performance, but we still need to improve in many aspects," he said.
"We can do a lot better. We made the most of the hiatus during the Olympic period to improve our physical condition and communication, and it's paying off."
Their strong performance in Japan comes ahead of a possible switch to independent player status.
Buletin Utama had reported that the duo tendered their resignation, but their status remains uncertain pending a decision from the BA of Malaysia council, which will deliver its verdict after a meeting on Saturday.
Meanwhile, Man Wei Chong-Tee Kai Wun couldn't repeat their victory over world champions Kang Min Hyuk-Seo Seung Jae, losing 21-15, 21-9 to the third-seeded South Koreans in another quarter-final match.
In women's doubles, Pearly Tan-M. Thinaah's impressive run came to an end despite a promising start against world No. 3 Liu Sheng Shu-Tan Ning.
Pearly-Thinaah couldn't maintain their early momentum, ultimately falling to the Paris Olympics silver medallists 17-21, 21-14, 21-10.