19 hours ago
Patience is key as Roy King-Arif wait for their moment in the sun
Time to shine: Malaysia's Yap Roy King (left) and Wan Arif Wan Junaidi hope to step up in their game. — FAIHAN GHANI/The Star
PETALING JAYA: Men's doubles shuttlers Yap Roy King-Wan Arif Wan Junaidi are staying patient in their bid for a breakthrough in higher level tourneys.
While senior teammates Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik and Man Wei Chong-Tee Kai Wun have been getting the plaudits following their fine performances this year, Roy King-Arif are still searching for their moment in the sun.
Roy King-Arif's best display so far this year came in the World Tour Super 300 Orleans Masters where they reached the semi-finals before losing to China's Paris Olympics silver medallists Liang Weikeng-Wang Chang.
The world No. 24 pair though have not managed to clear the early rounds in Super 750 and 1000 events so far.
In the Singapore and Indonesian Opens earlier this month, Roy King-Arif went down in the second round to world No. 1 independent duo Goh Sze Fei-Nur Izzuddin Rumsani and Wei Chong-Kai Wun respectively.
The pair though are not letting the defeats bring them down.
'I believe Arif and I need some time to make our mark. We are trying hard to catch up to our seniors,' said Roy King.
'I'm also keep telling Arif to be patient about our partnership. Don't rush, just go with the flow and give our best in training and in tournaments and keep learning.'
Currently, Roy King-Arif are the fourth ranked Malaysians in the men's doubles behind Sze Fei-Izzuddin, world No. 2 Aaron-Wooi Yik and world No. 7 Wei Chong-Kai Wun.
The younger pair have never beaten their seniors in tournaments and are looking for a breakthrough.
'For me, we are all fighting for Malaysia. On court, we always give 100 percent,' said Roy King.
'It's more difficult to face our own teammates compared to foreign pairs as we always train together and know each other very well.
'We are opponents on court but we have a good relationship with our seniors. Although we feel a bit down after losing, we still get advice from them on how to do better. We hope to get a breakthrough against them soon.'
Roy King-Arif are hoping to turn around their fortunes when they compete next in the back-to-back Japan Open from July 15-20 and China Open from July 22-27.
