TOKYO — Professional men’s doubles pair Goh Sze Fei-Nur Izzuddin Rumsani were denied back-to-back Japan Open titles after falling to South Korea’s Kim Won Ho-Seo Seung Jae in the 2025 edition final in Tokyo today.

Playing at the Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium, the world number one Malaysians were outgunned in the opening game, losing 16-21, as they struggled to cope with the Koreans’ aggressive pace and sharp attacks.

Sze Fei-Nur Izzuddin then responded strongly in the early stage of the second game, taking a 4-1 lead.

However, their rhythm faltered after the interval, allowing the world number three to claw back and level at 14-14 before slipping behind for the first time at 14-15.

From there, Won Ho-Seung Jae never looked back, sealing victory at 21-17 to claim their fifth title of the year in just 38 minutes.

Won Ho-Seung Jae took home USD70,300 (about RM298,000) as champions while Sze Fei-Nur Izzuddin earned USD33,250 (around RM141,000) as the runners-up.

Earlier, Pearly Tan-M. Thinaah stumbled in their bid to become the first Malaysian women’s doubles pair to land the Japan Open title, going down to world number one Liu Sheng Shu-Tan Ning of China, 21-15, 21-14.