The graph of Goh Sze Fei and Nur Izzuddin’s partnership since reuniting has only gone one way – up.

On Sunday at the Hangzhou Olympic Sports Centre Gymnasium, the Malaysians finished second to newly-crowned world No.1s Kim Astrup/Ander Skaarup Rasmussen. It marked the culmination of an extraordinary season that included an eight-week run beginning August, during which they secured their first Super 750 (Japan Open), Super 1000 (China Open) and Super 500 (Arctic Open) titles.

Having already claimed two Super 300 crowns earlier, the duo became the first shuttlers from their country to complete the full set of HSBC BWF World Tour titles. Reaching a career-best world No.3 on Tuesday, they are now Malaysia’s highest-ranked men’s pair.

“To be honest, this has exceeded our expectations,” said Goh after the 17-21 21-17 11-21 final loss to the Danes. “We are grateful and appreciate what our team has done for us. Without them, and without the supporters, we wouldn’t have been able to pull this off.”

Goh is determined not to let complacency creep in.

“It’s been a great journey this year, but it’s an ongoing one, so we have to keep focus,” said the 27-year-old.

Izzuddin shared his partner’s perspective.

“This has been a 10 out of 10 season. We unlocked new achievements but we hope next year will be even better.”

By their own admission, ego clashes were once the Achilles’ heel of their partnership, causing them to part ways in January last year. The five months apart allowed them to mature and rediscover themselves. A year and a half later, their communication has improved, and more importantly, they now fight for each other.

Uphill climb complete, how do they top this season?

“Even better consistency, and try to become more rounded as players,” Goh asserted.

FeiDin might be the fan-given nickname, but fading does not look like a remote possibility at the moment.

This time, they are here to stay.