PETALING JAYA: Men’s doubles shuttlers Choong Hon Jian-Mohd Haikal Nazri (pic) have vowed not to take their foot off the gas after their steady progress up the ranks.
Hon Jian-Haikal, who were paired up last August, have quickly emerged as the most exciting young pair in the country and have broken into the world’s top 30.
The pair captured back-to-back Syed Modi International and Indian Masters titles at the end of last year and stayed consistent by winning the Orleans Masters title in France last month.
The victories enabled Hon Jian-Haikal to move up to No. 28 in the latest rankings and the duo are now eligible to compete in the Badminton World Federation (BWF) World Tour Super 750 and 1000 events.
Haikal is now hungry to continue his fine progress with Hon Jian.
“I’m happy and thankful that Hon Jian and I have progressed quickly and I want to continue doing well,” said Haikal after a training session at the Academy Badminton Malaysia (ABM) in Bukit Kiara yesterday.
“We have not been playing together very long but we have moved into the top 30 in the world.
“I feel excited to get to play in bigger tournaments and this has motivated me to train even harder.”
Haikal, though, acknowledged that it will only get tougher for him and Hon Jian after this but he is determined to take the challenges in his stride.
“We will definitely go through both ups and downs after this. There will be times when our performances will drop,” said Haikal.
“Our opponents will be reading our game and we have to prepare ourselves well.
“This is normal for athletes and we need to be ready for this. The question is not that we will fall but how quickly we can rise again.
“The faster we overcome any challenges we face the better.”
Haikal is now aiming to close the gap on seniors Man Wei Chong-Tee Kai Wun and Goh Sze Fei-Nur Izzuddin Rumsani, who are ranked No. 18 and 19 respectively.
“Hon Jian and I are always thinking about how we can improve and our next target is to break into the top 20 in the world,” said Haikal.
“We want to catch up on our seniors. There’s good competition between all the men’s doubles pairs in the country and it’s great to see the strength in depth we have.”
The other Malaysian pairs who are currently ranked above Hon Jian-Haikal are world No. 5 Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik and world No. 12 independent duo Ong Yew Sin-Teo Ee Yi.
Haikal knows he and Hon Jian face tough competition from their teammates but is hoping to earn a call-up for the first time for the Thomas Cup Finals from April 27-May 5 in Chengdu.
“We have done quite well recently and we hope the coaches recognise this and select us for the Thomas Cup,” said Haikal.
“We will be ready to play if called upon.”
