KUALA LUMPUR: Men's doubles Goh Sze Fei-Nur Izzuddin Rumsani will forever cherish their unforgettable World Tour Finals (WTF) clash against Lee Yang-Wang Chi Lin, marking the legendary Taiwanese duo's final appearance on the international stage.
The world No. 7 reached the men's doubles semi-finals with an impressive 24-22, 21-12 victory over the two-time Olympic champions in 42 minutes in a Group B match today.
Lee Yang had officially retired after retaining the Olympic title at the Paris Olympics with Chi Lin but returned for a one-off appearance at the WTF.
"Lee Yang is a close friend, and I consider him a legend. There's so much to learn from them," said Sze Fei.
"We deeply appreciate having this last opportunity to play against these legends. Perhaps after the semi-finals, we can buy Lee Yang-Chi Lin dinner.
"For now, we must focus on maintaining our consistency and reducing errors in the semi-finals tomorrow," he added.
Meanwhile, Izzuddin was delighted with their achievement.
"We're proud of ourselves for making it to the semi-finals, especially as this is our first time playing in this tournament. However, there's still room for improvement," said Izzuddin.
It was initially tough for Sze Fei-Izzuddin when the former suffered cramps and the pair lost to world No. 3 Kim Astrup-Anders Skaarup Rasmussen of Denmark in their opening match on Wednesday.
However, they bounced back strongly, defeating world No. 10 Lee Jhe Huey-Yang Po Hsuan of Taiwan on Thursday to stay in contention.