Fans have expressed concern for Goh Sze Fei-Nur Izzuddin, who suffered a shock defeat at the World Championships against an opponent they had often dominated before.
Despite holding a 20-17 lead in the deciding game, the world number three pair failed to convert the final point and slumped to a 20-22, 21-15, 21-23 defeat against Chinese Taipei pair Lee Jhe Huei-Yang Po-hsuan.
It was a disappointing end to their campaign at the Adidas Arena in Paris, where they looked to have a favourable draw on paper.
Also concerningly, they looked to have lost their composure during crucial moments, just like when they had match point.
Composure is one of their strong suits, now even that seems to have vanished and replaced with jitters.
Fans were quick to express their concerns on social media, with some even suggesting that the Malaysians may have underestimated their opponents.
Others asked for a coaching change, while some said it would be beneficial for them to return to the Badminton Association of Malaysia where the national pairs such as Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik, Man Wei Chong-Tee Kai Wun and Yap Roy King-Junaidi Arif are flourishing under men's doubles head coach Herry Iman Pierngadi.
Whatever the case, it is clear that Goh-Izzuddin have lost some of their mojo which saw them win the Japan Open, China Open and Arctic Open last year.
They started this year in fine fashion by clinching the India Open, and most recently reached the Japan Open final in July, but apart from these two competitions, their performance have been patchy and inconsistent.
There is plenty of work to do for this pair if they intend to remain in the men's doubles top bracket and continue challenging for honours in top-tier competitions such as the world meet.
Despite holding a 20-17 lead in the deciding game, the world number three pair failed to convert the final point and slumped to a 20-22, 21-15, 21-23 defeat against Chinese Taipei pair Lee Jhe Huei-Yang Po-hsuan.
It was a disappointing end to their campaign at the Adidas Arena in Paris, where they looked to have a favourable draw on paper.
Also concerningly, they looked to have lost their composure during crucial moments, just like when they had match point.
Composure is one of their strong suits, now even that seems to have vanished and replaced with jitters.
Fans were quick to express their concerns on social media, with some even suggesting that the Malaysians may have underestimated their opponents.
Others asked for a coaching change, while some said it would be beneficial for them to return to the Badminton Association of Malaysia where the national pairs such as Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik, Man Wei Chong-Tee Kai Wun and Yap Roy King-Junaidi Arif are flourishing under men's doubles head coach Herry Iman Pierngadi.
Whatever the case, it is clear that Goh-Izzuddin have lost some of their mojo which saw them win the Japan Open, China Open and Arctic Open last year.
They started this year in fine fashion by clinching the India Open, and most recently reached the Japan Open final in July, but apart from these two competitions, their performance have been patchy and inconsistent.
There is plenty of work to do for this pair if they intend to remain in the men's doubles top bracket and continue challenging for honours in top-tier competitions such as the world meet.
