KUALA LUMPUR: Competing in a major tournament can test a player’s nerves and affect performance on the court.
For men’s doubles pair Wan Arif Wan Junaidi and Yap Roy King, their opening-round defeat at the All-England may have been influenced by that pressure.
Making their debut at the prestigious tournament, Arif-Roy King faced a tough challenge against China’s Huang Di-Liu Yang at the Utilita Arena Birmingham.
Although ranked 17th in the world, 20 spots higher than their opponents, Arif-Roy King struggled to gain momentum.
After a gruelling 69-minute battle, their campaign ended with an 18-21, 21-16, 17-21 defeat.
“It’s our first time seeing a stadium this big, and I was very excited and happy to be here, participating in this tournament. You saw the crowd, right? Amazing,” said Roy King in a post match interview with Badminton World Federation (BWF).
“I think we focused on our part, but we didn’t do well. We made a lot of unforced errors, which is why we lost. That was the big difference in the third game.
“I think the main factor was a lack of consistency,” added Roy King.
Besides nerves, fatigue could also have been a factor, as the All-England was their third tournament in three consecutive weeks following the German Open on Feb 25 and the Orleans Masters last week.
They were also the only Malaysian representatives to reach the semi-finals of the Orleans Masters before losing to the tournament’s top seeds, China’s Liang Weikeng-Wang Chang.
The All-England is the fourth Super 1000 tournament Arif and Roy King have competed in, following appearances at the China Open and Indonesian Open last year, as well as the Malaysian Open in early January.
