KUALA LUMPUR: Goh Sze Fei-Nur Izzuddin Rumsani moved a step closer to winning their second World Tour title in three months after advancing to the final of the Kaohsiung Masters in Taiwan.
The world No 29 pair triumphed in an all-Malaysian semi-final against Nur Mohd Azriyn Ayub-Tan Wee Kiong, securing a 21-12, 21-17 victory in just 26 minutes at the K-Arena today.
Sze Fei and Izzuddin, who reunited in June after a brief five-month hiatus, are keen on lifting another trophy after their victory at the US Open in July.
They will square off against either the home favourites and top seeds, Lee Jhe Huei-Yang Po Hsuan, or Kenya Mitsuhashi-Hiroki Okamura of Japan in the championship match.
The inaugural Kaohsiung Masters is a recent addition to the World Tour schedule and is categorised as a Super 100 event, ranking fifth in the flagship circuit.
Sadly, the national second-stringers couldn't capitalise on the absences of marquee players competing at the Asian Games.
In the men's singles, Aidil Sholeh Ali Sadikin, Chua Kim Sheng, and Jacky Kok all fell short, not advancing beyond the second round.
A similar fate befell the men's doubles, as none of the three pairs - Choong Hon Jian-Haikal Nazri, Wan Arif Junaidi-Yap Roy King, and Beh Chun Meng-Goh Boon Zhe - progressed past the second round.
In the women's singles, Wong Ling Ching achieved a commendable quarter-final outing before being defeated by the 2019 world junior champion, Riko Gunji of Japan.