KUALA LUMPUR: Aaron Tai-Yap Roy King have former world champions standing between them and a second title together.
The world No. 57 Malaysians will face Japan’s world No. 10 Takuro Hoki-Yugo Kobayashi in Sunday’s Kumamoto Masters men’s doubles final, just five tournaments into their partnership.
Aaron-Roy King earned their shot at the 2021 world champions after beating Denmark’s Daniel Lundgaard-Mads Vestergaard 21-18, 21-18 in Saturday’s semi-final at the Kumamoto Prefectural Gymnasium.
Coach Chang Kim Wai credited their concentration for getting them through the encounter.
“If they had panicked or lost focus even a little, it would have been difficult to win against the Danes,” said Kim Wai when contacted.
“Both of them were really focused and played well in this match.”
The Malaysians have made an encouraging start since joining forces last month, winning the Arctic Open on their debut before reaching the Hylo Open semi-finals.
They defeated Taiwan’s Lai Po Yu-Tsai Fu Cheng 21-19, 21-19 in the Arctic final, but now face opponents with a world title and home support behind them.
Aaron-Roy King have already overcome several higher-ranked pairs this week, including compatriots and world No. 5 Goh Sze Fei-Nur Izzuddin, whom they beat 21-14, 21-15 in the second round.
They then dispatched Taiwan’s world No. 15 Lee Jhe Huei-Yang Po Hsuan 21-16, 21-12 in the quarter-finals before stopping the Danes.
Hoki-Kobayashi, meanwhile, secured their place in the final with a 21-15, 19-21, 21-17 victory over China’s Wang Chang-Xie Haonan in the other semi-final.