KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia are assured of a pair in the men's doubles final of the Badminton Asia Championships in Ningbo, China after Goh Sze Fei-Nur Izzuddin Rumsani stunned reigning Olympic champions Lee Yang-Wang Chi Lin today.
Sze Fei-Izzuddin rode on their sensational form to claim a nail-biting 19-21, 21-19, 21-19 win over their Taiwanese rivals, snapping a two-match losing streak.
More importantly, the win sets up an all-Malaysian semi-final with teammates Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik tomorrow.
Aaron-Wooi Yik secured their progress by defeating China's Liu Yu Chen-Ou Xuan Yi 21-14, 21-15 in the quarter-finals.
Sze Fei-Izzuddin have been displaying their best form in recent years this week, chalking fine victories including against world champions Seo Seung Jae-Kang Min Hyuk of South Korea in the opening round.
Sze Fei-Izzuddin will need to be at their best again if they are to march towards their first major title, which carries ranking points equivalent to a Super 1000 event, as teammates Aaron-Wooi Yik have proved to be tough nut to crack for them.
Aaron-Wooi Yik have dominated their past encounters against Sze Fei-Izzuddin, winning six of their seven clashes.
With their second Olympic appearance in the bag, a more relaxed Aaron-Wooi Yik will be determined to build on their world rankings as they need to crack the top four by July in order to get seeded at the Paris Games.
Currently ranked world No. 5 Aaron-Wooi Yik have the chance to do just that week by leaping past No. 4 Kim Astrup-Anders Skaarup Rasmussen of Denmark, provided they can go all the way to win the title this week.
"With the Olympic race over, we don't have much pressure coming into this tournament," said Aaron.
"The focus is now on climbing on the world ranking and we're striving towards that goal."\
