It’s been an unforgettable eight weeks for Goh Sze Fei/Nur Izzuddin, currently the world’s most in-form men’s pair.

It is during this period that they won their first Super 750 (Japan Open), Super 1000 (China Open) and Super 500 (CLASH ROYALE Arctic Open 2024) titles, thus completing the HSBC BWF World Tour set having also bagged two Super 300 crowns previously.

Since the World Tour came into being in 2018, only four men’s pairs have pulled this off – twice Olympic gold medallists Lee Yang/Wang Chi-Lin, Fajar Alfian/Muhammad Rian Ardianto, Satwiksairaj Rankireddy/Chirag Shetty and incidentally, Goh/Izzuddin’s vanquished final opponents on Sunday in Vantaa, Kim Astrup/Anders Skaarup Rasmussen. In fact, no player or pair from Malaysia, a nation with stellar badminton achievements, have accomplished this feat before Goh and Izzuddin.

Despite this, the duo promised not to rest on their laurels.

“We will continue what we’ve been doing these last few weeks, and that is giving our best in every match,” vowed Goh after the 15-21 21-15 21-19 win over the defending champions.

The four-point chase-back at 19-17 down to seal the match perfectly embellished how they are currently riding on a huge wave of confidence.

“It was important we didn’t lose faith in each other during that tense period. We kept going and thankfully we won,” said Goh. “It’s been a tiring week. Time for some good food.”

Izzuddin added: “Really difficult matches from the quarterfinal stage onward. We’ve had to be at our best mentally and physically to come through them all.”

Rasmussen was philosophical in his reflection. “It’s down to centimetres and milimetres. That’s just how it is sometimes, you can’t win them all,” said the 35-year-old.

Goh and Izzuddin will now start VICTOR Denmark Open 2024 as hot favourites. Seeded seventh, they open their campaign against Lee Jhe-Huei/Yang Po-Hsuan.

→ Results (Finals)

WHAT OTHERS SAID

“There’s an ancient Chinese phrase that says it’s harder to keep a country than to get it. Relatably for us, there’s no burden winning a title for the first time but the next one, everyone would have analysed us. It’s on us to be innovative.” – Huang Dong Ping on defending the mixed doubles title

“At the conclusion of the Olympics, we felt like a huge burden was lifted off our shoulders. We were stressed out before going to Paris because there was pressure to perform. After that, we felt very relaxed; we communicated better and that bond brought us closer, helping us understand each other more.” – Thinaah Muralitharan on why she and Pearly Tan have been playing well in recent weeks

“To be honest, never expected to make the final, I had my flight booked for Saturday. It’s difficult competing against younger opponents but I crossed this line so I’m happy with my attitude and spirit.” – Men’s singles winner Chou Tien Chen