Pushing the limits: Choong Hon Jian returning a shot as Mohd Haikal Nazri looks on during their match against Japan’s Takuro Hoki-Yugo Kobayashi.
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.
