SZE FEI-NUR IZZUDDIN DESERVE TO BE NATIONAL NUMBER ONE - AARON

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 6 (Bernama) -- National men’s doubles shuttler Aaron Chia admits that Goh Sze Fei-Nur Izzuddin Rumsani deserve to be the country’s current top combination.

Aaron, who partners Soh Wooi Yik, acknowledged that Sze Fei-Nur Izzuddin proved far superior than them following a stellar 2024 season.

“Whether we are number one or two, we all represent Malaysia. They (Sze Fei-Nur Izzuddin) have performed well recently and it is well-deserved for them (to be ranked as the country’s top men’s doubles pair),” he told reporters during the 2025 Malaysia Open court testing session here today.

Last month, Sze Fei-Nur Izzuddin emerged as the country’s top pair when they surged to third spot from seventh position in the world rankings while Aaron-Wooi Yik dropped one spot to sixth place.

This is the first time Aaron-Wooi Yik have been ranked second best in Malaysia since the two-time Olympic Games bronze medallists topped the country’s men’s doubles ranking list in 2019.

Sze Fei-Nur Izzuddin have risen to become the country’s top men’s doubles pair following a remarkable run in the Badminton World Federation (BWF) World Tour Finals 2024, where they became the first Malaysian men’s doubles pair to reach the final of the season-finale before going down 17-21, 21-17, 11-21 to Danes Kim Astrup-Anders Skaarup Rasmussen in Hangzhou, China, last month.

Sze Fei-Nur Izzuddin also bagged three World Tour titles last season, namely the Japan Open (Super 750), China Open (Super 1000) and Arctic Open (Super 500).

As for the 2025 Malaysia Open, which will be held at the Axiata Arena from tomorrow until Sunday (Jan 12), Aaron said he and Wooi Yik will not underestimate the threat posed by their first-round opponents, Chen Zhi Yi-Presley Smith of the United States.

Top national mixed doubles pair Toh Ee Wei-Cheng Tang Jie do not plan to put additional pressure on themselves even as they seek to put a smile on the faces of home fans in the Super 1000 tournament.

Ee Wei-Tang Jie, who described themselves as being “a work in progress”, are currently ranked fifth in the world.

The third-seeded Ee Wei-Tang Jie will open their Malaysia Open campaign against the unseeded Hsuan-Yi Wu-Chu Yun Yang of Taiwan.

-- BERNAMA