It was double heartbreak for the Malaysian contingent at the Gwangju Korea Masters final as Goh Soon Huat-Shevon Lai and Goh V Shem-Tan Wee Kiong both failed to clinch the mixed doubles and men’s doubles titles on Sunday.

Goh-Lai lost 14-21, 15-21 to Hong Kong pair Tang Chun Man-Tse Ying Suet in the first final of the day.

The pair’s limp loss in 34 minutes undid their accomplishment of reaching their first World Tour final of the year, after losing in the semi-finals at the All England, German Open, Hong Kong Open and China Open.

The world number eight pair had ended the semi-finals curse by beating Chinese Taipei’s Lee Jhe-huei-Hsu Ya Ching 21-17, 21-17, but fell short in the final hurdle as they lost in all four meetings against the Hong Kong pair.

Meanwhile, Goh-Tan were expected to make amends by clinching the men’s doubles title, but they too came up short against Chinese Taipei’s Lee Yang-Wang-Chi-lin to lose 19-21, 22-20, 19-21.

The world number 13 pair were seeking their third title of the year since leaving the Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) to go independent.

They started the year well by clinching the Thailand Masters in January, before winning the Chinese Taipei Open in September, which remained the last win by a Malaysian shuttler or pair at a World Tour event.

It was also heartbreak for five-time world champion Lin Dan, who was tamed 22-24, 12-21 by Japan’s Kanta Tsuneyama in the men’s singles final.

Lin Dan was seeking a second title this year after his win at the Malaysia Open in April but could not find an answer past the promising Japanese.

Victory would have given the two-time Olympic gold medalist a massive boost, especially with many speculating he is due to retire soon after numerous early exits this year.

The Chinese ace, however, squashed any rumours of retirement, insisting he would fight to feature at the Tokyo Olympics next year.