SHAH ALAM: The higher you fly, the easier it is to lose sight of the target.
And men’s doubles shuttlers Mohd Faiq Masawi-Lok Hong Quan paid the price as title holders Selangor went down to a shock quarter-final exit in the Malaysia Games (Sukma) men’s team event at Setia City Convention Centre yesterday.
Faiq is resolute in preventing a similar outcome as he and Hong Quan enter Setia City Convention Centre as defending champions for the individual event starting on Friday, having emerged victorious in the 2024 Kuching Games.
Both the 20-year-olds were instrumental in the state’s flawless group stage performance, securing 5-0 thrashings against Terengganu and Sabah in Group A.
However, they crumbled 1-3 against the Federal Territories, and Faiq-Hong Quan went down 10-21, 20-22 to Bryan Jeremy Goonting-Low Han Chen.
“We knew they were the biggest threats and had hoped to draw them in the final.” said Faiq after the match. “It just wasn’t our day.”
Faiq acknowledged that the pressure of defending the title may have adversely affected their performance.
“Being defending champions might have gotten in our heads. We need to relax and focus on playing the game in front of us.”
“We will definitely put in more effort not to let this happen in the individual doubles event.”
