Vladivostok: Malaysia’s mixed doubles pair, Chan Peng Soon and Goh Liu Ying won their second title of the year at the 2015 Russian Open Gold GP Badminton Championship on Sunday. However, there was no joy for Malaysian men’s doubles pair, Goh V Shem and Tan Wee Kiong as they fell short by the smallest of margins in the finals.
Chan Peng Soon/Goh Liu Ying’s experience proved pivotal in the final, when they tenaciously saved three match points in second set to thwart their younger Japanese opponents 21-13, 23-21 to claim their second title of the year. Chan/Goh won the Polish Open in March, and were expected to make an ascent into world top 30 in the BWF world rankings that will be release next Thursday.
Sunday has also became a day of double joy for the Malaysian mixed doubles pair as they’ve been confirmed to qualify for the forthcoming World Championship in Jakarta after the withdrawal of a higher ranked mixed doubles pair from the world meet.
Goh V Shem and Tan Wee Kiong who were bidding for their first Open title, were denied by top seeds Vladimir Ivanov and Ivan Sozonov of Russia in the men’s doubles final, losing 20-22 and 19-21 in 39 minutes. The Malaysian pair was leading 20-18 in the first game and 19-16 in the second. They should have capitalized, but instead looked too rushed as they squandered their leads in both set to allow the Russian pair to break back and win the men’s doubles title.
In the men’s singles, Tommy Sugiarto ultimately proved too strong for his Estonian opponent in the final, winning 21-16, 21-10 in 38 minutes to capture his Russian Open title.
Meanwhile, Gabriela Stoeva/Stefani Stoeva delivered another eye-catching display when they ousted Johanna Goliszewski/Carla Nelte of Germany to lift the women’s doubles crown.
Kristina Gavnholt of Czech Republic got the better of Mayu Matsumoto in the women’s singles final as Gavnholt needed 40 minutes to dispatch Matsumoto 21-10, 22-20.
