A roller-coaster battle unfolded in the men’s doubles final as fifth seeds Choong Hon Jian-Wong Vin Sean and Japan’s seventh seeds Naoya Kawashima-Kota Ogawa traded momentum across three games.

After slipping to a 17-21 defeat in the opening game, the national pair rallied to claim the second 21-10 in convincing fashion.

The deciding game intensified as both sides battled nervously for the title, with the score level at 21-21 before the Japanese pair grabbed the crucial points to win 23-21.

Hon Jian expressed his gratitude for the runners-up finish, while admitting that winning the title would have been an even greater achievement.

“I was satisfied with the result, but becoming the champion would have been even nicer,” he said, taking the result in a positive stride.

Looking ahead, Hon Jian shared his approach for their next challenge at the Singapore IC 2026, which will be held from 18 to 23 August.

“Since we are having back-to-back tournaments, I just want to go step by step, taking it one round at a time and not setting our goals too high,” said Hon Jian.

He added that he would be pleased to reach at least the semi-finals.

Meanwhile, Vin Sean also set his sights on the upcoming tournament, with a clear goal of reaching the final.

“I want to reach the final in Singapore, as I wish to improve my ranking and break into the top 100,” said Vin Sean.

Hon Jian-Vin Sean will now continue their campaign at the Singapore IC, hoping to build on their title-winning run at the Philippines IC two weeks ago.