DEFENDING champions Goh V Shem-Lim Khim Wah fell by the wayside as Singapore clinched their first ever international men’s doubles title through Indonesia-born Danny Bawa Chrisnanta-Chayut Triyachart in the US$120,000 Yonex-Sunrise Malaysia Grand Prix Gold at the Pasir Gudang Municipality Indoor Stadium.
Ranked 281 in the world, the naturalised Singaporeans snatched a 21-17, 22-20 win over the Malaysians, who are were favourites to retain the title after top seeds Hoon Thien How-Tan Wee Kiong were beaten by the same pair in the first round.
It was a remarkable run for the Singaporeans who had to go through the qualifying rounds to make the main draw.
V Shem-Khim Wah are ranked 15 in the world, but were disappointing in the final. Their opponents went home US$9,480 richer. The losers, who are also the reigning Malaysian Open Superseries champions, took home US$4,560.
China were the big winners in the finals after winning the women’s singles, doubles and mixed doubles.
The men’s singles title went to former world No 3 Simon Santoso.
Results (All Finals)
Men
Singles
Men: Simon Santoso (Ina) bt Sourabh Varma (Ind) 15-21, 21-16, 21-19
Doubles: Danny Bawa Chrisnanta-Chayut Triyachart (Sin) bt Goh V Shem-Lim Khim Wah (Mas) 21-17, 22-20
Women
Singles: Yao Xue (Chn) bt Adrianto Firdasari (Ina) 21-18, 21-8
Doubles: Yu Xiahan-Huang Yaqiong (Chn) bt Ou Dongni-Xiong Mengjing (Chn) 22-20, 12-21, 21-18
Mixed doubles: Lu Kai-Huang Yaqiong (Chn) bt Praveen-Debby Susanto (Ina) 21-14, 21-13