Kumamoto: National men’s doubles pair Goh Sze Fei-Nur Izzuddin Mohd Rumsani survived some anxious moments en route to fighting back from a game down to check into the quarter-finals of the 2025 Kumamoto Masters in Japan today. The second-seeded Malaysians had to slog for 65 minutes for a 21-23, 21-13, 26-24 win over homesters Keiichiro Matsui-Katsuki Tamate in the second-round clash at the Kumamoto Prefectural Gymnasium.

According to BERNAMA News Agency, the Malaysians will face Taiwan’s Lee Jhe-Huei-Yang Po-Hsuan in the last eight. Two other Malaysian men’s doubles pairs are also through to the quarter-finals – Wan Arif Wan Junaidi-Yap Roy King and Choong Hon Jian-Muhammad Haikal Nazri. In today’s second-round matches, Wan Arif-Roy King disposed of Japan’s Takumi Nomura-Yuichi Shimogami 21-11, 21-19; while Hon Jian-Muhammad Haikal defeated Taiwan’s Liu Kuang Heng-Yang Po Han 14-21, 21-17, 21-19.

In tomorrow’s quarter-finals, Wan Arif-Roy King will meet Japan’s Hiroki Midorikawa-Kyohei Yamashita, while Kuang Heng-Po Han will take on another Taiwanese pair, Chiu Hsiang Chieh-Wang Chi-Li. Other Malaysian results include Wong Ling Ching’s victory over Michelle Li from Canada in the women’s singles, with scores of 21-17, 16-21, 21-19.

In the men’s doubles, Hiroki Midorikawa-Kyohei Yamashita of Japan defeated Ong Yew Sin-Teo Ee Yi 21-17, 10-21, 21-14, and Kakeru Kumagai-Hiroki Nishi of Japan overcame Nur Mohd Azriyn Ayub-Tan Wee Kiong 21-13, 21-11. In the women’s doubles, Rui Hirokami-Sayaka Hobara of Japan beat Ong Xin Yee-Carmen Ting 21-12, 21-9.