Men’s doubles shuttlers Goh Sze Fei-Nur Izzuddin Rumsani staved off a strong challenge from a Taiwanese pair today to enter the semi-finals of the Kumamoto Masters in Japan.
The Malaysian world No 4 duo won 21-16, 10-21, 21-16 in 45 minutes against Taiwan’s 12th-ranked duo Lee Jhe-huei-Yang Po-hsuan at the Kumamoto Prefectural Gymnasium.
It was their fifth win over their opponents in six encounters so far, and keeps alive their hopes of qualifying for the lucrative World Tour Finals in China next month.
A title here and at the Australia Open next week would put them in a strong position to make it to the RM12.5 million season finale.
Sze Fei-Izzuddin will meet either world No 29 pair Kyuhei Yamashita-Hiroki Midorikawa or their 19th-ranked compatriots Wan Arif Wan Junaidi-Yap Roy King in the semi-final tomorrow.
The duo, who have suffered several early exits this year, have entered only two finals. They won the India Open title but lost the Japan Open.
