KUALA LUMPUR – National men’s doubles pair Wan Arif Wan Junaidi and Yap Roy King narrowly missed out on their first BWF World Tour title tonight.
The duo lost the chance to emerge as the winners after being trumped in the Super 300 Spain Masters final by Sabar Karyaman Gutama and Muhammad Reza Pahlevi Isfahan.
Going into the match, the world number 34 Indonesians held a 2-1 advantage in the head-to-head record and they started strong by winning the first set.
Despite this, the world number 65 Malaysian pair fought back by winning the second.
In a closely contested rubber game, Sabar and Reza ultimately edged it 21-18, 17-21, 21-19, claiming their first title of the season.
This marked Arif-Roy King’s first appearance in a final match, coming in just their second tournament of the season since being paired together in March last year.
“After three months of not playing tournaments…this could be a new start for us. This boosted our confidence for our upcoming tournaments.
“Coming into this tournament, we targetted a quarter-final appearance.
“My main focus was to ensure that Roy King stays injury-free,” said the Kemaman-born shuttler.
The pair had to skip the first few months of the season as Roy King was recovering from a knee injury which sidelined him since December.
He was injured at the Syed Modi International at the end of November of last year.
The Swiss Open was their first tournament of the year where they were sent home in the second round by compatriots Man Wei Chong-Tee Kai Wun.
For Sabar-Muhammad Reza, the victory served as a form of redemption after losing the Orleans Masters to another Malaysian pair Choong Hon Jian-Muhammad Haikal Nazri earlier this month.
The Indonesians took home US$16,590 (RM78,379.52) in prize money. Meanwhile, Arif-Roy King received US$7,980 (RM37,701.54) for their runners-up finish. – March 31, 2024