Sze Fei-Izzuddin's China Masters exit raises Asian Games alarm
KUALA LUMPUR: On Monday, former world No. 1 Roslin Hashim said men’s pair Goh Sze Fei-Nur Izzuddin Rumsani were Malaysia’s best hopes for a medal at next month’s Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games.
Malaysia's men's doubles pair Goh Sze Fei-Izzuddin and Rumsani faced an alarming setback on Tuesday as they suffered a walkover defeat in the first round of the China Masters badminton tournament in Shenzhen. The pair, who were considered Malaysia's top prospects for a medal at the upcoming Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games, conceded the match to Indonesia's Ali Faathir Rayhan-Devin Wahyudi after losing the opening game 21-16.
While the cause of their defeat has been ruled out as injury-related, Sze Fei-Izzuddin cited being unwell as the reason for the loss. The pair are scheduled to recover for 19 more days before the Asian Games. Meanwhile, other Malaysian players continued to progress at the China Masters. Notable performances included World No. 6 Kai Wun-Roy King, who overcame Taiwan's He Zhi Wei-Huang Jui Hsuan to advance to the last 16, and Wooi Yik-Aaron, who defeated Japan's Hiroki Okamura-Kyohei Yamashita, setting up a match against China's Chen Bo Yang-Liu Yi.
Written by urgent.news from New Straits Times's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
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