Goh-Izzuddin Power Into Thailand Open Last 16

BANGKOK, May 13 (Bernama) -- National professional men’s doubles pair Goh Sze Fei-Nur Izzuddin Rumsani lived up to their top billing today by securing their first win to advance to the second round of the Thailand Open 2026 at Nimibutr Stadium.

The world number nine and tournament third seeds from Malaysia defeated Japan’s Hiroki Okamura-Kyohei Yamashita 21-15, 17-21, 21-12 in a 56-minute battle.

Goh said they were satisfied with both their game plan and overall performance, although adapting to the wind conditions inside the arena remained an area requiring improvement.

“We are satisfied with our strategy today. Although it was not 100 per cent perfect, at least 60 to 70 per cent of it worked, which allowed us to control the game. One thing we need to improve is managing the wind direction in the arena and reducing the number of high lifts,” he told Bernama on Wednesday.

Goh added that he and Izzuddin are targeting a podium finish at the tournament, but stressed that their immediate focus is on producing their best performances and taking the competition match by match.

The Malaysian duo, who won the Indonesia Masters earlier this year, will next face China’s Huang Di-Liu Yang tomorrow for a place in the quarter-finals.

The last time Goh-Izzuddin competed in the tournament was in the 2022 edition, where their campaign ended in the quarter-finals after losing to Japan’s Takuro Hoki-Yugo Kobayashi.

Earlier, Malaysian men’s doubles pair, Choong Hon Jian-Wong Vin Sean, failed to advance after losing to newly crowned Swiss Open champions and fourth seeds Lee Fang-jen-Lee Fang-chih of Chinese Taipei 20-22, 26-24, 7-21 in a 63-minute encounter.

Meanwhile, independent men’s singles shuttler Lee Zii Jia will take on Israel’s Daniil Dubovenko later this evening for a place in the second round.

Should Lee progress, the former Paris 2024 Olympic bronze medallist is expected to face either Denmark’s Ditlev Jaeger Holm or Chou Tien Chen of Chinese Taipei in the next round.

Lee is a two-time Thailand Open champion, having won the title in 2022 and 2024.

-- BERNAMA