Latest news with #HonJian-Haikal
New Straits Times
02-08-2025
- Sport
- New Straits Times
Arif-Roy King win all-Malaysian battle to make Macau Open final
KUALA LUMPUR: Wan Arif Junaidi-Yap Roy King emerged triumphant in an all-Malaysian semi-final showdown at the Macau Open, overcoming Choong Hon Jian-Haikal Nazri 21-13, 21-15 on Saturday to earn a shot at the men's doubles title. The world No. 24's kept alive their bid for a maiden World Tour crown, which would be their first together and Malaysia's first men's doubles title at the event in 12 years. The last time a Malaysian pair contested the title match in Macau was in 2013, when Hoon Thien How-Tan Wee Kiong lifted the crown. Since then, only two other pairs — Goh Sze Fei-Nur Izzuddin Rumsani in 2019 and Nur Azriyn Ayub-Wee Kiong in 2024 — had made it as far as the semi-finals. Arif-Roy King, who are currently the third-ranked pair in the national team behind world No. 2 Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik and world No. 7 Man Wei Chong-Tee Kai Wun, will now have a golden chance to close the gap with their senior teammates. The opportunity is also there for them to claim the bragging rights as World Tour winners — albeit at Super 300 level — as their more established compatriots have already bagged two titles each this season. Aaron-Wooi Yik lifted the Singapore Open (Super 750) and Thailand Open (Super 500), while Wei Chong-Kai Wun triumphed at the Indonesia Masters and Malaysia Masters, both Super 500 events. Arif-Roy King had previously reached the final of a World Tour event once — the Spain Masters in March last year — but had to settle for runners-up. Their best run this year was making the semi-finals of the Orleans Masters in France, while they also reached the quarter-finals of the Indonesia Masters, German Open and Thailand Open. Although the two pairs train together daily under the national setup, this was the first time Arif-Roy King and Hon Jian-Haikal had faced each other competitively on the World Tour. For world No. 52 Hon Jian-Haikal, the semi-final run was a much-needed breakthrough after returning from an injury-disrupted spell in May. In their six outings prior to Macau, they suffered first-round exits on five occasions. This time, they made their presence felt — most notably by stunning former world No. 1 and Asian Games gold medallists Chirag Shetty-Satwiksairaj Rankireddy of India in the quarter-finals. Awaiting Arif-Roy King in Sunday's final will be either last year's runners-up Sabar Karyaman Gutama-Moh Reza Pahlevi Isfahani of Indonesia or Taiwanese brothers Lee Fang Chih-Lee Fang Jen.
New Straits Times
01-08-2025
- Sport
- New Straits Times
Hon Jian-Haikal send Asian Games champs packing in Macau
KUALA LUMPUR: Choong Hon Jian-Haikal Nazri pulled off a career-best win by stunning reigning Asian Games champions Satwiksairaj Rankireddy-Chirag Shetty to book their spot in the Macau Open men's doubles semi-finals on Friday. The upset has guaranteed Malaysia a place in Sunday's final, with Hon Jian-Haikal set to face compatriots Arif Junaidi-Yap Roy King in the last four on Saturday. World No. 52 Hon Jian-Haikal showed grit and composure to fight back from 18-14 down in the decider and edge world No. 9 Satwik-Chirag 21-14, 13-21, 22-20. It was a much-needed confidence boost for the injury-hit duo, marking their first semi-final appearance of the year. Meanwhile, world No. 24 Arif-Roy King made light work of an all-Malaysian quarter-final, dispatching world No. 23 Azriyn Ayub-Tan Wee Kiong 21-12, 21-16 in just 30 minutes. Arif-Roy King had more reason to celebrate this week after securing a late entry into the World Championships. Their spot was confirmed by the Badminton World Federation (BWF) on Tuesday following the withdrawal of Indonesia's world No. 18 pair Daniel Marthin-Shohibul Fikri. Now, both Malaysian pairs will be eyeing a breakthrough by reaching their maiden final and capping off a turbulent run on the international circuit. Meanwhile, 2016 Rio Olympics silver medallist Goh V Shem and his South Korean partner Choi Sol Gyu went down 21-18, 21-13 to Indonesia's world No. 8 Sabar Karyaman-Moh Reza Isfahani in 35 minutes. V Shem famously won his Olympic medal with Wee Kiong and the pair reached the top of the world rankings in 2016 before splitting in 2021.
The Star
30-07-2025
- Sport
- The Star
Hon Jian-Haikal out to break curse of early exits
Superb start: Choong Hon Jian-Mohd Haikal Nazri celebrate after winning first round match at the Malaysian Masters at Axiata Arena in Bukit Jalil. IZZRAFIQ ALIAS/The Star PETALING JAYA: After enduring nine months of early exits, men's doubles pair Choong Hon Jian-Mohd Haikal Nazri now have a golden opportunity to break their jinx when they face Japan's Tori Aizawa-Daisuke Sano in the second round of the Macau Open today. Hon Jian-Haikal got off to a strong start in Macau by defeating Singapore's Wesley Koh-Junsuke Kubo 21-15, 21-14 in the opening round. Although it will be their first meeting, Hon Jian-Haikal hold a slight psychological edge on paper as they are ranked higher at world No. 52, compared to the Japanese pair's No. 90. It has been a tough season for Hon Jian-Haikal, who made headlines last year by winning the Orleans Masters. Since returning from injury, the duo have struggled to regain their rhythm and confidence. Their last notable run came at the Malaysia Super 100 in Kuala Lumpur last October. Since then, they have consistently fallen in either the first or second round of tournaments. Also bidding for a place in the quarter-finals are Wan Arif Wan Junaidi-Yap Roy King, who will take on India's Pruthvi Krishnamurthy Roy-Sai Pratheek. Nur Azriyn Ayub-Tan Wee Kiong will face Indonesia's Putra Erwiansyah-Daniel Marvino, while Chia Weijie-Lwi Sheng Hao, fresh from their upset over seventh seeds Takumi Nomura-Yuichi Shimogami, will meet Hong Kong's Hung Kuie Chun-Lui Chun Wai. Women's singles shuttler Goh Jin Wei is also in a race to reach the quarter-finals. Despite slipping to No. 47 in the world rankings, the determined Jin Wei stayed on course with a commanding 21-14, 21-12 win over Denmark's Amalie Schulz yesterday. A tough challenge awaits, though, as she will face top seed and reigning Olympic champion Chen Yufei of China in the next round. Meanwhile, it was another early exit for compatriot K. Letshanaa, who went down fighting 13-21, 22-20, 21-19 to Hong Kong's Happy Lo. In the men's singles, national shuttler Justin Hoh will carry Malaysia's hopes when he faces seventh seed Ayush Shetty of India in the second round. Justin got off to a solid start after brushing aside Sathish Karunakaran 21-19, 21-12 in the opening round yesterday. Unfortunately, compatriot Aidil Sholeh Ali Sadikin failed to progress after falling 20-22, 7-21 to Canada's Brian Yang. ok
New Straits Times
28-05-2025
- Sport
- New Straits Times
Hon Jian-Haikal hit another bump in comeback trail
KUALA LUMPUR: National men's pair Choong Hon Jian-Haikal Nazri's comeback suffered another blow after they were shown the exit in the opening round of the Singapore Open today. The world No. 41, still trying to rediscover their form after a long layoff, were outclassed 21-16, 21-13 by India's former world No. 1 Satwiksairaj Rankireddy-Chirag Shetty. Hon Jian-Haikal were making their fourth straight tournament appearance since Haikal returned from a six-month injury layoff, but their results have been far from ideal — this being their third first-round exit after early defeats in Taiwan and Thailand. Their only bright spot came at the Malaysia Masters last week, where they stunned world No. 14 Kittinupong Kedren-Dechapol Puavaranukroh to reach the second round. But consistency in their game remains elusive. The latest defeat doesn't bode well for their ranking prospects. Once ranked as high as world No. 18 in September last year, they now risk tumbling further outside the world's top 32 — a bracket that gains players direct entries into Super 750 and 1000 events. Hon Jian-Haikal will hope to make amends at the Indonesia Open next week — a Super 1000 meet. A solid run there could help push them back into the world top 40, which is crucial to secure main draw access in Super 500 and Super 300 tournaments. Satwiksairaj-Chirag may have also struggled with a series of injuries and dropped to No. 27, but they remain a force to be reckoned with. The Indian duo, coached by former Malaysian international Tan Kim Her, are making their first tournament appearance since the All England in March.
