Perhaps no pair in recent times have turned around their fortunes the way Goh Sze Fei and Nur Izzuddin have.

Having split and paired up with different partners, and then recombined and striking it out on their own as independent players, the Malaysians have had a rollercoaster journey; but in their spectacular success over the last few months, they have added an exciting new element to men’s doubles.

In their undemonstrative approach, their ease of positioning, clever tactical play and overall composure, they profess allegiance to the same school as their idols, Mohammad Ahsan and Hendra Setiawan. Following the Daddies’ retirement at the Indonesia Masters last month, fans can look to ‘Fei/Din’ as the immediate torchbearers of that style of badminton.

The Malaysians have scorched the courts in the post-Olympic season, winning the Japan Open, the China Open and the Arctic Open in a brilliant spell between August and October 2024. They finished the year with a runner-up spot at the HSBC BWF World Tour Finals; with the India Open title this January, the signs for 2025 are good.

The India Open was a classic demonstration of the smoothness of their play, giving little leeway even to strong opponents like Satwiksairaj Rankireddy/Chirag Shetty in the semifinals and Malaysia Open champions Kim Won Ho/Seo Seung Jae in the final.

“These guys suddenly started playing well,” said an impressed Rankireddy. “You get confidence when you win tournaments. They won a few tournaments (in 2024), and I can see they don’t have nerves.”

Shetty suggested the Indians were taken aback by what they’d run into.

“They were quite good at the front court, especially in the first two-three strokes,” said Shetty. “They took us by surprise. We’ve played them multiple times, but this is the first time we saw a completely different game, especially in the first two-three strokes. They also got confident with the flick service.”

For their part, the soft-spoken Malaysians tried to downplay the enormity of their achievements in winning a Super 1000, two Super 750 and one Super 500 tournament in the space of six months.

“It means a lot to us, but not only to us, but to our team – so credit to them and thank you to them,” said Goh. “I just try to create chances for Izzuddin to attack. Despite the pressure, we just try our best. Our idols are Ahsan and Hendra. We have watched them closely and picked up a lot of their style.”

“Our communication has improved,” said Izzuddin. “Our opponents have been improving, so that was motivation for us to catch up. Our performance is our No.1 goal. If we can perform well, we can get high level results.”

The next big test for the Malaysians will be the YONEX All England, where they have never crossed the first hurdle in three attempts.