Back-to-back wins with new partner gives Haikal confidence

KUALA LUMPUR: Winning back-to-back titles is always special and Haikal Nazri is over the moon after achieving the feat with new partner Choong Hon Jian at the Indian Masters in Guwahati on Sunday.

Although their success came in a smaller super 100 tournament, Haikal said there was a lot of pressure after having won the Syed Modi International, a super 300 event, in Lucknow the previous week. The duo had also taken a long time to steady their ship and the Syed Modi International was their ninth competition before they finally broke the deadlock.

Their performance at the Indian Masters had given them the confidence to maintain their consistency and push for more success next year.

Hon Jian-Haikal defeated Lin Bing-wei-Su Ching-heng of Taiwan 21-17, 23-21 in the final.

“I feel so happy because we managed to maintain our performance and win the title in Guhawati because I believe it is not easy to win back-to-back titles,” said Haikal.

“However, it wasn’t easy for us this time because we felt too nervous.

“Maybe we wanted to win the title so badly that we could not play our normal game. It was a close race. We want to keep improving and aim for better results in the bigger tournaments.”

Hon Jian-Haikal had taken a big lead in the world ranking last week from No. 93 to No. 69 after the Syed Modi win and they should also get close to the top 50 after their second title.

National coach Poh Chai Boon, who accompanied the players for the two tournaments, said Hon Jian-Haikal have started to settle down as a pair.

“Their overall performance in the last two weeks shows that they have gained their “match temperament” and this will take them far,” said Chai Boon.

“They also understand each other’s game well and this will increase their confidence in tournaments.”

It is also a welcome break for Haikal who had to switch partnership three times this year.

His three-year partnership with Wan Arif Wan Junaidi ended in March where he combined with Nur Izzuddin Rumsani but it only lasted until June.