PETALING JAYA: A taste of victory against higher-ranked compatriots would do men’s doubles shuttlers Wan Arif Wan Junaidi-Yap Roy King wonders to their confidence.
Currently ranked world No. 16 and Malaysia’s fourth-best pair, Arif-Roy King have yet to overcome their senior teammates on the international stage.
Their latest setback came at the All-England, where their run was halted in the second round by countrymen Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik, marking their third loss to the world No. 2 pair.
Arif-Roy King have also lost all seven encounters against world No. 6 Man Wei Chong-Tee Kai Wun, while world No. 7 Goh Sze Fei-Nur Izzuddin Rumsani have also beaten them three times.
Arif acknowledged that having multiple pairs in the men’s doubles camp brings a unique challenge, but he refused to make excuses.
“Sometimes facing our teammates is the reason we don’t make it far in tournaments,” said the 23-year-old.
“But we can’t always blame it on that because we have many pairs who are ranked high, and we are bound to meet each other at competitions.
“To overcome this wall, we just need to get a win against them. I believe that would boost our confidence.”
Arif admitted they have had a difficult start to the year, failing to progress past the second round in four tournaments.
But Arif hopes they can turn things around at the Asian Championships in Ningbo, China, from April 7-12.
A strong performance there could see Arif-Roy King be included into the Thomas Cup Finals squad in Horsens, Denmark, from April 24-May 3, joining confirmed pairs Aaron-Wooi Yik and Wei Chong-Kai Wun.
The Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) are still deciding between Arif-Roy King and Sze Fei-Izzuddin, as the latter have been showing stronger results so far this year, including winning the Indonesian Masters.
But Arif is not looking too far ahead just yet as he aims to get a podium finish in China.
“I admit our progress has been unsatisfactory; we haven’t reached any quarter-finals this year.
“But we hope to deliver a strong result at the Asian Championships, at least a win against a top 10 pair would be good.
“For the Thomas Cup, I’m not thinking about it yet. Overthinking would only affect our game and we need to be focused on China.
“We hope to be on the podium, if not, at least make it to the quarter-final,” said Arif.
