PETALING JAYA: National men doubles pair Wan Arif Wan Junaidi-Yap Roy King saw their giant-killing run come to an end after bowing out in the quarter-finals of the Thailand Open.
Yesterday, the world No. 64 Arif-Roy King suffered a massive 7-21, 14-21 defeat against India’s world No. 3 Satwiksairaj Rankireddy-Chirag Shetty in a one-sided match in Bangkok.
The Indians may have handed a tough lesson to Arif-Roy King, but there is a silver lining for the Malaysian pair.
This experience is not just about the defeat, but it is about growth as they now have a deeper understanding of where they stand in the fiercely competitive world of men’s doubles.
Arif-Roy King had earlier upset world No. 21 Lu Ching-yao-Yang Po-han of Taiwan 16-21, 21-13, 21-16 in the opening round.
As for Choong Hon Jian-Mohd Haikal Nazri, they blew a good chance to advance to the semi-finals after losing narrowly 18-21, 21-15, 18-21 to world No. 80 Lu Ming-che-Tang Kai-wei of Taiwan in another quarter-finals clash.
In the first game, the world No. 28 Hon Jian-Haikal seemed poised for victory, holding a promising 16-13 lead in the first game, but the Taiwan pair staged an impressive comeback, leveling the game at 17-17 before scoring four consecutive points to win the game.
Hon Jian-Haikal displayed resilience by securing the second game but they could not maintain their momentum in the third game, squandering a 17-14 lead before losing.
With their exits, Malaysia will not have any representatives in the men’s doubles event. — By Ng Chia Yin
QUARTER-FINAL RESULTS
(Malaysians unless stated)
Men’s singles: Lee Zii Jia bt Lu Guangzu (Chn) 21-13, 16-21, 21-18; Chou Tien-chen (Tpe) bt Kodai Naraoka (Jpn) 21-14, 21-15; Angus Ng Ka Long (Hkg) bt Lee Chia-hao (Tpe) 21-13, 21-14; Kunlavut Vitidsarn (Tha) bt Meiraba Luwang (Ind) 21-12, 21-5.
Men’s doubles: Chen Boyang-Liu Yi (Chn) bt Jin Yong-Na Sung-seung (Kor) 22-20, 15-21, 21-14; Kim Gi-jung-Kim Sa-rang (Kor) bt Chiang Chien-wei-Wu Hsuan-yi (Tpe) 21-18, 21-17; Lu Ming-che-Tang Kai-wei (Tpe) bt Choong Hon Jian-Mohd Haikal Nazri 21-18, 15-21, 21-14; Satwiksairaj Rankireddy-Chirag Shetty (Ind) bt Wan Arif Wan Junaidi-Yap Roy King 21-7, 21-14.
Women’s singles: Wang Zhiyi (Chn) bt Yeo Jia Min (Sin) 19-14, rtd; Han Yue (Chn) bt Komang Ayu (Ina) 21-14, 21-9; Supanida Katethong (Tha) bt Gregoria Mariska (Ina) 14-21, 22-20, 22-20; Pornpawee Chochuwong (Tha) bt Gao Fangjie (Chn) 10-21, 21-16, 21-12.
Women’s doubles: Febriana Dwipuji-Amallia Cahaya (Ina) bt Chang Ching-hui-Yang Ching-tun (Tpe) 21-16, 21-12; Rin Iwanaga-Kie Nakanishi (Jpn) bt Laksika Kanlaha-Phataimas Muenwong (Tha) 24-22, 21-15; Tanisha Crasto-Ashwini Ponnappa (Ind) bt Lee Yu-lim-Shin Seung-chan (Kor) 21-15, 21-23, 21-19; Jongkolphan Kititharakul-Rawinda Prajongjai (Tha) bt Li Yijing-Luo Xumin (Chn) 21-6, 22-20.
Mixed doubles: Guo Xinwa-Chen Fanghui (Chn) bt Supak Jomkoh-Supissara Paewsampran (Tha) 10-21, 21-14, 21-18; Ruttanapak Oupthong-Jhenicha Sudjaipraparat (Tha) bt Rehan Naufal-Lisa Ayu (Ina) 21-16, 16-21, 22-20; Rinov Rivaldy-Pitha Haningtyas (Ina) bt Dejan Ferdinansyah-Gloria Emanuelle (Ina) 21-19, 23-21; Dechapol Puavaranukroh-Sapsiree Taerattanachai (Tha) bt Jafar Hidayatullah-Aisyah Salsabila (Ina) 21-17, 21-11.
