PETALING JAYA: In-form South Korean shuttlers Seo Seung-jae-Kim Won-ho’s absence has opened the door for a home pair to end the long title drought in the men’s doubles in the Malaysian Masters next month.
Seung-jae-Won-ho have been the best pair in the World Tour since combining this year, capturing the Malaysian Open, All-England and German Open titles and finishing runners-up in the Indian Open.
The duo, though, have withdrawn from the Malaysian Masters from May 20-25 at the Axiata Arena in Bukit Jalil, increasing the chances for a home pair to win the crown.
Seung-jae-Won-ho have been a thorn in the top national combos’ flesh, beating the likes of world No. 2 Goh Sze Fei-Nur Izzuddin Rumsani, world No. 6 Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik, Man Wei Chong-Tee Kai Wun (No. 7) and Yap Roy King-Wan Arif Wan Junaidi (No. 19).
Sze Fei-Izzuddin did deny the Koreans once in the Indian Open final in January but lost to them in the All-England second round last month.
Malaysia will also have Tan Wee Kiong-Nur Mohd Azriyn Ayub (No. 26), Ong Yew Sin-Teo Ee Yi (No. 32), Mohd Haikal Nazri-Choong Hon Jian (No. 33) and Low Hang Yee-Ng Eng Cheong (No. 40) in action in the men’s doubles in the home Masters.
Hang Yee-Eng Cheong have to start from the qualifying rounds while the other pairs can go straight to the main draw.
The last home duo to win the men’s doubles title in the tourney were Goh V Shem-Lim Khim Wah in 2013.
Wei Chong-Kai Wun came closest to capturing the crown recently when they finished second to Seung-jae and his previous partner Kang Min-hyuk in 2023.
While Seung-jae-Won-ho will be missing the competition, other pairs such as Denmark’s defending champions and world No. 1 Kim Astrup-Anders Skaarup Rasmussen, China’s world No. 3 Liang Weikeng-Wang Chang, Japan’s 2021 world champions Takuro Hoki-Yugo Kobayashi and Indonesia’s Sabar Gutama-Moh Reza (No. 8) will still present a tough challenge for the homesters.
It could depend on whether the likes of Sze Fei-Izzuddin, Aaron-Wooi Yik or Wei Chong-Kai Wun can handle the pressure well in front of the passionate home fans.
