Reunited men’s doubles pair Wan Arif Junaidi and Yap Roy King gave Malaysia a strong start at the World Championships today after cruising through their opening-round match in New Delhi.
The world No. 19 combination needed just 25 minutes to defeat Vietnam’s Nguyen Dinh Hoang and Tran Dinh Manh 21-9, 21-13 at the Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium on Monday.
As Malaysia’s first representatives to take to the court at this year’s world meet, Arif and Roy King looked comfortable from the opening rally and controlled the match against the world No. 78 Vietnamese pair.
The Malaysians maintained their momentum throughout both games, producing a composed performance to mark their reunion with a convincing victory.
The pair were brought back together for the World Championships following a recent reshuffle of Malaysia’s men’s doubles combinations.
Before the reunion, Arif had partnered Kang Khai Xing in their previous three tournaments, while Roy King had been playing alongside Tee Kai Wun.
Arif and Roy King previously reached the last 16 at last year’s World Championships and will now face a considerably tougher challenge in the second round.
They are set to meet Indonesia’s 12th seeds Raymond Indra and Nikolaus Joaquin, who advanced directly to the second round after receiving a first-round bye.
The Malaysian pair will need to raise their level against the Indonesian combination as they bid to continue their campaign at the prestigious tournament.
