Goh Sze Fei and Nur Izzuddin made the biggest final of their career as they beat compatriots Aaron Chia/Soh Wooi Yik to enter the final of the BANK OF NINGBO Badminton Asia Championships 2024.
Until now, their previous best had been finals at the HSBC BWF World Tour Super 300 level.
The world No.19 pair, who are yet to win a title this season, continued their great run through the tournament, having earlier beaten world champions Kang Min Hyuk/Seo Seung Jae, He Ji Ting/Ren Xiang Yu and Lee Yang/Wang Chi-Lin. Nur/Izzuddin had suffered five straight defeats to Chia/Soh before they turned it around today, 21-14 21-18.
Jonatan Christie
In the final they face home pair Liang Wei Keng/Wang Chang, who outplayed Lee Jhe-Huei/Yang Po-Hsuan in straight games.
After winning 13 of 14 matches in the quarterfinals, it was a more down-to-earth day for hosts China, with top seeds Shi Yu Qi and Zheng Si Wei/Huang Ya Qiong falling.
Shi was taken down in three games by All England champion Jonatan Christie, who made his second straight final.
Zheng/Huang, on a run of six straight wins over world champions Seo Seung Jae/Chae Yu Jung, ran out of steam against the Koreans, 9-21 21-13 21-16.
China still have a chance at sweeping all five titles, and are already assured of the women’s singles, with Chen Yu Fei taking on Wang Zhi Yi.
With He Bing Jiao and Han Yu – who are in a close race in the Race to Paris – both losing the semifinals, He Bing Jiao retained her narrow lead over her compatriot.
→Results (Semifinals)
→Order of Play (Finals)
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