PETALING JAYA: Reaching the second round might not be much to shout about for some, but for national men’s doubles pair Choong Hon Jian-Mohd Haikal Nazri, it marked a small breakthrough in their struggle to shake off a string of early exits.
Their Malaysian Masters campaign ended in the second round at the hands of Japan’s former world champions Yugo Kobayashi-Takuro Hoki, but it was still a sign of progress, having finally broken their first-round curse that had haunted them since the China Open in Changzhou last September.
The situation worsened when Haikal was sidelined by injury early this year, forcing the duo out of action for two months. They only resumed competition at the Taiwan Open earlier this month.
For Hon Jian and Haikal, the focus now is on viewing every setback as part of the growth process.
“This wasn’t the result we wanted, but I think it’s still okay. We lost in the first round in our previous six tournaments, and this is the first time we’ve made it to the second round,” said Hon Jian.
“Overall, it’s a decent performance, but we’re still lacking consistency.”
They also admit that while some of their teammates have adapted well under new coach Herry Iman Pierngadi, they are still trying to adjust to the Indonesian’s approach.
“We’ve adapted to some extent, but not well enough. If we had, we wouldn’t have lost today,” said Haikal after the match.
“Our playing style, which avoids high lifts, is similar to that of the Japanese pair and we lost playing their game. We should have been the ones dictating the pace.
“Every player has his own strengths and strategies, but we made too many unforced errors. We tried various approaches, but the mistakes came from us – that’s one of the main reasons for the loss,” added Haikal.
The challenges will only get tougher, with the duo set to face India’s world championship bronze medallists Chirag Shetty-Satwiksairaj Rankireddy in the opening round of the Singapore Open next week.
The Indian pair are making their return after being sidelined from several major events due to injury.
