PETALING JAYA: World No. 2 Goh Sze Fei-Nur Izzuddin Rumsani have crashed out in the first round of the Swiss Open after a shocking defeat to Japan’s Hiroki Midorikawa-Kyohei Yamashita on Wednesday (March 19).
The top seeds fell 23-25, 21-15, 11-21 after a 53-minute battle at the St. Jakobshalle Hall in Basel.
It is the biggest career win for the Japanese pair, only ranked 78th in the world, and they will take on either Chen Kuan-cheng-Lin Bing-wei or Chiu Hsiang-chieh-Wang Chi-lin, both from Taiwan, for a place in the quarter-finals.
It is the second setback on European soil for Sze Fei-Izzuddin, who are the highest ranked Malaysian pair in the men’s doubles world rankings.
Sze Fei-Izzuddin had high hopes of winning their first All-England title but the dream was halted in the last 16 by eventual champions Seo Seung-jae-Kim Won-ho of South Korea.
National singles shuttler Justin Hoh earned himself a final shot at redemption in Europe after qualifying for the Swiss Open main draw.
Reigning Malaysia Games (Sukma) champion Justin secured his spot with a hard-fought 21-19, 19-21, 21-16 victory over India’s K. Sathish Kumar in a 69-minute second qualifying round match.
He defeated France’s Valentin Singer 21-17, 21-19 in the first qualifying round.
Justin though faces a tough challenge against world No. 25 Yushi Tanaka of Japan in the opening round.
Justin reached the last 16 of the German Open three weeks ago but suffered a first-round qualifying exit at the Orleans Masters the following week.
Professional shuttler Tan Jia Jie fell short in his bid to join Justin in the main draw, losing 17-21, 13-21 to Denmark’s Magnus Johannesen in the second qualifying round.
In the women’s singles qualifiers, former Sea Games champion S. Kisona lost 15-21, 11-21 to China’s Han Qianxi.
