Roy King-Valeree recover from setback to be title contenders in Indonesia

PETALING JAYA: Shuttlers Yap Roy King-Valeree Siow are indeed fast learners.

Just a week after losing in the last four of the Indonesian International Challenge, Roy King-Valeree rebounded in style by storming into the mixed doubles final of the Indonesian Masters in Medan yesterday.

The duo displayed great determination and fighting spirit to come from behind to beat homesters Marwan Faza-Jessica Maya 13-21, 21-19, 21-9 in a thrilling semi-final match.

The win meant that Roy King-Valeree have now reached their first international tournament final of the year.

The pair have continued their upwards trajectory after winning the national title in July and moving eight rungs from No. 66 to No. 58 in the world rankings recently.

Roy King-Valeree now have an opportunity to capture their first international title together since winning three consecutive titles at the Latvia, Hellas and Ukraine Internationals in 2021.

Standing in their way in the final are Japan’s Hiroki Nishi-Akari Sato.

The Japanese pair prevented an all-Malaysian title match by defeating Choong Hon Jian-Go Pei Kee 21-18, 12-21, 21-18.

Hon Jian-Pei Kee had a great opportunity to reach the final when leading 11-7 in the third game but could not hold on against the tenacious Nishi-Sato.

Despite the defeat, it was still the former’s best finish in an international outing together this year.

Meanwhile, in the men’s singles, Aidil Sholeh Ali Sadikin’s hopes were dashed after he was forced to concede a walkover against Japan’s Yushi Tanaka in the last eight.

Aidil was struck down by food poisoning and fever before the match.

It was unfortunate for the 23-year-old after he had stunned another Japanese and Swiss Open champion Koki Watanabe 21-19, 21-14 in the third round.

Meanwhile, Roy King could not make it a double joy for himself after losing 13-21, 19-21 along with Wan Arif Wan Junaidi to home pair Sabar Karyaman-Moh Reza in the men’s doubles semi-finals.