PETALING JAYA: Yap Roy King hopes the coaching team will consider keeping him together with new partner Aaron Tai after the pair captured the Arctic Open title on Sunday.
The result was all the more encouraging as it came in their first tournament together after being paired only recently.
Roy King and Aaron appeared to complement each other well throughout the week at the Energie Arena in Vantaa, Finland, capping their run by beating Taiwan’s world No. 60 Lai Po-yu-Tsai Fu-cheng 21-19, 21-19 in the final.
The victory also made them the third Malaysian men’s doubles pair to win the Arctic Open after Nelson Heg-Teo Ee Yi in 2013 and Goh Sze Fei-Nur Izzuddin Rumsani in 2024.
“For me, I hope we can stay together, but whatever happens, we will follow the coaches’ instructions,” said Roy King in a post-match interview with BAM.
Aaron-Roy King are among the scratch pairings being tested by men’s doubles head coach Herry Iman Pierngadi as he looks for the best combinations in the squad.
Roy King admitted he did not expect the partnership to click so quickly, especially after they had spent only a short time training together.
“Honestly, there was no secret to our win because even in training, our chemistry was not that good, but it was different when we played in the tournament.
“I always told Aaron that we should focus on our own roles, and he told me the same thing,” he added.
It was Roy King’s second title of the year after winning the Korean Masters in August with Man Wei Chong.
For Aaron, it was his first title after coming close at the Taiwan Open, also in August, where he finished runner-up with senior partner Aaron Chia.
The success should give them another confidence boost heading into this week’s Denmark Open, where they are set to face South Korea’s Kang Min-hyuk-Lee Jong-min in the first round.
