Top seeds Goh Sze Fei and Nur Izzuddin exit early from Swiss Open, clearing the path for Indonesia’s men’s doubles.

KUALA LUMPUR, March 21 — Top seeds Goh Sze Fei and Nur Izzuddin Rumsani suffered a first-round exit at the Swiss Open, creating an opportunity for Indonesia’s men’s doubles pairs to vie for the title.

According to The Star, Goh and Nur Izzuddin struggled against Japan’s Hiroki Midorikawa and Kyohei Yamashita, falling 23-25, 21-15, 11-21. Their departure paves the way for Indonesia, which has three pairs advancing to the second round.

Among them are last year’s semi-finalists, Sabar Karyaman Gutama and Moh Reza Pahlevi Isfahani, now under the guidance of badminton legend Hendra Setiawan. The Star reported that Sabar and Moh Reza eased past Ireland’s Declan Bennett and Richard Kong to set up a second-round clash with England’s Callum Hemming and Ethan Van Leeuwen.

Speaking to the Indonesia Badminton Association, Sabar mentioned that the early rounds had been smooth, partly due to a favorable draw.

“Thankfully, everything went smoothly. We’re quite pleased with the draw changes because we no longer have to face Fikri-Daniel in the last 16,” he said, referring to compatriots Shohibul Fikri and Daniel Marthin, last year’s runners-up.

The tournament has also seen several early upsets. Denmark’s Julie Dawall Jakobsen ousted 2022 women’s singles champion P. V. Sindhu 21-17, 21-19.

In men’s singles, France’s Christo Popov stunned sixth seed Chou Tien-chen of Taiwan with a hard-fought 21-23, 21-19, 21-14 victory.