PETALING JAYA: Men’s doubles shuttlers Yap Roy King-Wan Arif Wan Junaidi still have work to do in their quest to claim a spot in the Thomas Cup Finals after a mixed showing in the Asia Team Championships.
Roy King-Arif were given the opportunity to lead the men’s doubles in the Asia meet in Qingdao, China but showed they needed more ammunition to seal a spot in the Finals from April 24-May 3 in Horsens, Denmark.
The world No. 18 are at the fourth spot in the pecking order behind world No. 2 Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik, Man Wei Chong-Tee Kai Wun (No. 6) and Goh Sze Fei-Nur Izzuddin Rumsani (No. 8).
Said men’s doubles coach Chang Kim Wai: “Roy King-Arif need to trust themselves more and stay focused despite losing to their opponents in previous meetings. Anything is possible in tournaments.
Roy King-Arif did well to beat Indonesia’s world No. 16 and Thailand Masters champions Leo Rolly-Bagas Maulana in the group stage of the Asia team meet.
The pair though found it harder against Japan’s world No. 9 and 2021 world champions Takuro Hoki-Yugo Kobayashi in the quarter-finals, losing 14-21, 12-21 on Friday.
It was Roy King-Arif’s third consecutive defeat to Hoki-Kobayashi, extending their winless streak against the latter.
Malaysia’s campaign ended when the team went down down 0-3 in the overall tie after singles players Justin Hoh and Aidil Sholeh Ali Sadikin were also beaten by Yushi Tanaka and Koki Watanabe respectively.
“Roy King-Arif played very well against Leo-Bagas but lacked confidence against Hoki-Kobayashi,” said Kim Wai.
“They have lost twice to the Japanese pair before this. The opponents pressured them from the start and they could not raise their game to counter them.”
Kim Wai stressed that Roy King-Arif need to have more self-belief when facing the world’s top pairs.
Roy King-Arif still have a chance to convince the coaching team that they deserve a place in the Thomas Cup Finals when they compete next in the back-to-back German Open from Feb 24-March 1 in Mulheim and All-England from March 3-8 in Birmingham.
