Passionate home support galvanises Haikal-Hon Jian to slay Thai giants
Inspired duo: and Mohd Haikal Nazri in action against Thailand's Dechapol Puavaranukroh-Kittinupong Kedren. — IZZRAFIQ ALIAS/The Star
KUALA LUMPUR: Shuttlers Mohd Haikal Nazri-Choong Hon Jian finally had a victory to savour in the men's doubles after eight months.
Haikal-Hon Jian, who have been struggling with form and fitness issues over the past few months, turned in a spirited performance to send Thailand's world No. 14 Dechapol Puavaranukroh-Kittinupong Kedren packing in the opening round at the Axiata Arena in Bukit Jalil.
Spurred on by the passionate home fans, the pair came away with an impressive 21-15, 21-18 win in 40 minutes.
It was Haikal-Hon Jian's first win since they beat teammates Goh Sze Fei-Nur Izzuddin Rumsani in the Korean Open first round last August.
The former had suffered first-round exits in all their tournaments since then, including in the Taiwan and Thailand Opens over the past two weeks.
'Thankfully, Hon Jian and I managed to play our best game today and get the win,' said Haikal
'To be honest, I didn't expect that we could play well like this because we played badly in the Taipei and Taiwan Opens over the last two weeks.
'I was not thinking of winning or losing but I just wanted to play better.
'The home fans also supported us a lot and raised our spirits. We are happy but we still have lots to improve.
Hon Jian said: 'The difference was we were more consistent today and made less mistakes compared to our previous outings.
'This win has given us more confidence as we had not won for quite some time.'
Hon Jian-Haikal have another tough task next when they take on Japan's 2021 world champions Takuro Hoki-Yugo Kobayashi for a place in the last eight.
There was more good news for Malaysia when Sze Fei-Izzuddin also booked their spot in the second round after beating French pair Eloi Adam-Leo Rossi 21-16, 21-13. The world No. 2 independent pair will play Taiwan's Chen Zhi-ray-Lin Yu-chieh next.
The other Malaysians to make it into the second round in the men's doubles were Man Wei Chong-Tee Kai Wun and Low Hang Yee-Ng Eng Cheong while Yap Roy King-Wan Arif Wan Junaidi and Tan Wee Kiong-Nur Mohd Azriyn Ayub fell at the first hurdle.
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