Jayce
There’s been speculation that Chin Eei Hui might step in as the new coach for the independent men’s doubles team of Goh Sze Fei and Nur Izzuddin Rumsani. However, before making their mark in the second round of the Hong Kong Open, the pair encountered a significant challenge.
In their first tournament since departing from the Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM), Goh and Nur Izzuddin were tested thoroughly by Taiwan’s Lee Fang-chih and Lee Fang-jen. They managed to secure a hard-fought victory with scores of 21-17, 15-21, 24-22 in a gripping 60-minute match at the Hong Kong Coliseum in Kowloon.
The path ahead is unlikely to get any easier for the world No. 12 pair as they prepare to face Indonesia’s Shohibul Fikri and Daniel Marthin in their bid for a quarterfinal spot.
Goh and Nur Izzuddin are currently the highest-ranked Malaysian men’s doubles pair competing here, given the absence of world No. 5 Aaron Chia and Soh Wooi Yik.
Although they’ve joined Rosman Razak’s independent coaching team, there’s potential for Eei Hui to come on board as their new coach. Eei Hui recently signed with the same sponsor, Victor, as Goh and Nur Izzuddin.
Previously, Eei Hui coached the independent pair Ong Yew Sin and Teo Ee Yi before relocating to New Zealand early last year to lead the North Harbour Club in Auckland.
It remains uncertain if Eei Hui will leave her current role and return to Malaysia to coach Goh and Nur Izzuddin.
In other news, the national pair Man Wei Chong and Tee Kai Wun also advanced to the second round after a comeback win over teammates Yap Roy King and Wan Arif Wan Junaidi with scores of 15-21, 21-8, 21-11.
They will meet China’s Xie Haonan and Zeng Weihan in their next match.
Young talents Aaron Tai and Kang Khai Xing face a challenging first-round match today against South Korea’s world champions Kang Min-hyuk and Seo Seung-jae, following their 21-12, 21-19 victory over Canada’s Lan Kan Kern and Larry Pong in the qualifiers.
