KUALA LUMPUR – National badminton coaching director Rexy Mainaky praised his men’s doubles shuttlers Wan Arif Wan Junaidi and Yap Roy King for their performance at the Spain Masters final last night, which he considered an impressive display of skill and determination.
Speaking to Scoop, Rexy said that despite facing a setback due to Roy King’s injury and their prolonged absence from tournaments, Arif and Roy King demonstrated commendable performance on the court.
He acknowledged that while they may have lost some winning momentum, their overall performance was very good.
“They experienced a slight dip in their momentum since they haven’t participated in tournaments because Roy was injured,” said Rexy.
“But it was an improvement, I think their performance was very good.
“They didn’t lift the shuttlecock much and instead dared to dominate the front of the net.
“Only towards the end of the match, there was a slight hesitation from Arif-Roy King. Despite their courage and skill, they seemed reluctant to adapt their strategy, which prevented them from fully capitalising on opportunities to bring their opponents into open play.”
Arif-Roy King missed out on their first BWF World Tour title last night and emerged as runners-up at the Spain Masters final after losing to Indonesia’s Sabar Karyaman Gutama and Muhammad Reza Pahlevi Isfahan, 18-21, 21-17, 19-21.
The Super 300 event marked their first appearance in a finals match, coming in just their second tournament of the season since being paired together in March 2023.
The Swiss Open, held on March 19-24, was their first tournament of the year where they were eliminated in the second round by compatriots Man Wei Chong-Tee Kai Wun.
Arif-Roy King had to skip the first few months of the season as Roy King was recovering from a knee injury that had sidelined him since December.
He was injured at the Syed Modi International the month before. – April 1, 2024