Malaysia men’s doubles shuttlers Wan Arif Wan Junaidi-Yap Roy King celebrates after winning over Taiwan’s Lee Jhe-huei-Yang Po-hsuan during the second round of Malaysian Masters at Axiata Arena in Bukit Jalil on Thursday. — IZZRAFIQ ALIAS/The Star
KUALA LUMPUR: Determined to prove themselves on the big stage, men’s doubles pair Wan Arif Wan Junaidi-Yap Roy King are setting their sights on a strong campaign at the Asian Championships from April 8-13 in Ningbo, China.
Their goal is to reach the quarter-finals, with hopes of pulling off a major upset along the way.
They acknowledge that this is a high target, but they are determined to challenge themselves and put up a strong fight rather than just make up the numbers.
For them, this tournament is a shot at redemption after a disappointing outing at the All-England two weeks ago, where they were eliminated in the first round.
However, to make it to the quarter-finals, they must first overcome Singapore’s Wesley Koh-Junsuke Kubo in the opening round.
Should they advance, they are expected to face second-seeded Liang Weiken-Wang Chang in the second round. Ironically, the Chinese pair knocked them out in the semi-finals of the Orleans Masters in Paris three weeks ago.
If they can break past that Great Wall of China, they are likely to face a formidable quarter-final challenge against either South Korea’s Kim Won-ho-Seo Seung-jae or Indonesia’s Muhammad Shohibul Fikri-Daniel Marthin.
“Our preparations remain unchanged, and we hope everything goes smoothly without any unexpected challenges. Our target is to reach at least the quarter-finals and, if possible, upset one of the top-ranked pairs.
“In terms of performance, our coach pointed out areas that needed improvement after the All-England, and we too were not satisfied with how we played,” said Wan Arif.
Arif believes that the withdrawal of several players from the tournament does not necessarily provide any advantage, especially in the men’s doubles event, which remains the most competitive among the five.
For this edition, defending champions Satwiksairaj Rankireddy-Chirag Shetty have opted out, marking the second consecutive year they will miss the tournament due to injury concerns.
“The top countries still have four strong pairs competing, so the challenge remains just as tough,” said Arif.
Apart from Arif-Roy King, Malaysia will also be represented by Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik, Man Wei Chong-Tee Kai Wun and Goh Sze Fei-Nur Izzuddin Rumsani in the tournament.
