Goh Sze Fei-Nur Izzuddin lost another title defence after they crashed out of the China Open opening round following a 21-15, 15-21, 17-21 defeat against Kang Min-hyuk-Ki Dong-ju on Wednesday.

It was always going to be tough for the top seeds who had only just competed at the Japan Open final on Sunday against this unpredictable South Korean pair who had the 2023 world champion Kang.

Despite playing barely 72-hours after the Japan Open final, Goh-Izzuddin put up a good showing throughout the 56-minute match.

The world number three pair, will however, be consigned to dropping even further down the ranking order after they failed to defend this Super 1000 event which they won last year.

Goh-Izzuddin’s defeat comes a day after they were forced to deny rumours of a return to the Badminton Association of Malaysia.

Goh posted a statement saying the pair were happy with their coach Teo Kok Siang and called for an end to further speculation.

The Malaysians will next prepare for the World Championships taking place in Paris next month.