Malaysia’s men’s doubles pair Wan Arif Wan Junaidi and Yap Roy King finally rediscovered their best form after booking a spot in the semi-finals of the Malaysia Masters 2026 at the Unifi Arena in Bukit Jalil on Friday.
The breakthrough comes after months of inconsistent performances and several disappointing early exits that had affected the confidence of the world No.16 duo.
Seeded fifth in the tournament, the Malaysian pair secured their place in the last four after defeating American duo Chen Zhi Yi and Presley Smith 21-15, 21-19 in a 33-minute quarter-final clash.
The achievement marks their first semi-final appearance of the year and the second time they have reached the Malaysia Masters semi-finals after also making the same stage in 2024.
Wan Arif admitted the result was an important confidence boost for the pair after a difficult start to the season.
“This year we suffered many early exits and had not even reached a quarter-final before this. Now we are already in May, so this achievement definitely gives us confidence again for upcoming tournaments,” he said.
Meanwhile, Roy King said they entered the Super 500 tournament without putting too much pressure on themselves and did not expect to progress this far.
In Saturday’s semi-final, the Malaysians will face Danish pair Kim Astrup and Anders Skaarup Rasmussen after the European duo defeated Japan’s Takuro Hoki and Yugo Kobayashi in straight sets 21-18, 21-14.
The tournament, which runs until May 24, offers a total prize pool of US$500,000 (approximately RM1.98 million).
