Choong Hon Jian-Haikal Nazri rubber stamped their new partnership by capturing the Syed Modi International men’s doubles title after they stunned top seeds Akira Koga-Taichi Sato in a three game thriller.
The 18-21, 21-18, 21-16 victory sealed at the BBD U.P. Badminton Academy in Lucknow, India completed a fairytale outing for the left handers, who had also taken out second seeds Ben Lane-Sean Vendy in the semi-finals on Saturday.
On Sunday, the world number 93 pair had to do it the hard way by coming from behind to upset the Japanese pair who are ranked 77 spots above them in the world rankings.
The opening match started off competitively enough, but Koga-Saito capitalized on several unforced errors from the Malaysians to pull away after the interval to take the lead with a 21-18 win.
Choong-Haikal improved significantly in the second game with a much sharper gameplay, with Choong dictating the pace at the back court while Haikal exuded composure and control with his front court returns.
As a result, the Malaysians dominated the front court to seal the second game 21-18 and take it to a decider.
Koga-Sato were a bundle of nerves in that game, and the Malaysians capitalized by opening up a 19-12 lead before sealing their maiden title as a pair.
Choong-Haikal were only paired in August following a partnership reshuffle, and the move looks to be paying off handsomely.
The pair pocketed $16, 590 (RM77, 525) courtesy of their win in this Super 300 event.
Other results saw Japan’s Nozomi Okuhara clinch a long awaited women’s singles title following a 21-19, 21-16 victory over Line Kjaersfeldt.
Indonesians Dejan Ferdinansyah-Gloria Emmanuelle Widjaja claimed the mixed doubles title, while Chinese Taipei’s Chi Yu-jen upset Kenta Nishimoto in three games to win the men’s singles crown.
