The restart couldn’t have been more perfect but Goh Sze Fei and Nur Izzuddin have already shifted their attention towards building on their YONEX US Open 2023 success.

The third-seeded Malaysians, reunited only a few weeks ago after splitting in January, aced their first assignment back in convincing fashion, dropping only one game en route to the title at the Mid America Center in Council Bluffs, Iowa.

The happy ending was delivered in their trademark emphatic, heavy-hitting fashion against Chinese Taipei’s twin brothers – Fang-chih Lee/Fang-jen Lee – 21-9 21-10 in 30 minutes. It helped Malaysia taste men’s doubles glory again at the competition, 31 years after Cheah Soon Kit/Soo Beng Kiang won in 1992.

“Pretty good,” Goh responded when asked how it felt to win together once more.

“We are happy we could play our best and implement what we worked on in training. We didn’t focus too much on tactics in the final. Our preparation was centred on being physically and mentally ready. That was the key.”

An elated Izzuddin said: “Super, super happy. (This is proof) the chemistry is still very much there. There’s still a lot of things we need to improve on in the partnership. But we go forward together.”

The break-up earlier this year, which caused them to drop to world No.53 from 11th, was on the back of poor results post their 2022 German Open win but the 25-year-olds decided last month their alliance deserved a second chance.

While the American triumph was a step in the right direction, Goh prefers to look at it as the first building block of what he hopes would be a fruitful venture.

“We are more mature and understand this is a process,” he said. “Today we are champions but tomorrow we are nothing. We start from zero and our focus will be on the next tournament.”

That would be the Korea Open, where they are drawn against Ren Xiang Yu/Tan Qiang in the first round. The world No.53s are also entered to play at the Japan and Australian Opens.

→ Results (Finals)

WHAT OTHERS SAID:

“After two weeks of back-to-back tournaments, I’ve learned a lot from my matches and the different opponents.” – women’s singles runner-up Gao Fang Jie

“We viewed this match as an important chance to find our disadvantages, and to perfect our skills and abilities.” – women’s doubles winner Liu Sheng Shu

“It’s a confirmation of a step forward. And it gained me some important points for the Olympic qualification.” – Supanida Katethong on what her first HSBC BWF World Tour title means