PETALING JAYA: Men’s doubles pair Wan Arif Wan Junaidi-Yap Roy King thrilled the nation by defeating World Championship bronze medallists Kim Astrup -Anders Skaarup Rasmussen in the first round of the Hong Kong Open on Tuesday (Sept 9).
The match at Hong Kong Coliseum in Kowloon saw Arif-Roy King enter as underdogs against the Danish duo, who were seeded third in the tournament.
The Danes had also won their previous two encounters at last year’s Denmark Open and Malaysian Masters.
Despite this, Arif-Roy King showed great determination to overcome Astrup-Rasmussen, even though Arif had been rushed to a hospital a few days before leaving for Hong Kong due to digestive issues.
After 43 minutes of intense play, the Malaysians secured a 21-19, 23-21 victory.
