Rookies out to prove a point in internal meet
KUALA LUMPUR: They may be just rookies in the national team but Yap Roy King and Ooi Jhy Dar will be out to show that they are no pushovers when the BAM Invitational Championships kicks off at the Academy Badminton Malaysia (ABM) today.
Roy King-Jhy Dar are unfazed despite being handed a tough draw in Group A that includes Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik and Ong Yew Sin-Teo Ee Yi.
The other two pairs in the group are Choong Hon Jian-Loo Bing Kun and Ching Kai Feng-Lwi Sheng Hao.
The top two finishers will advance into the semi-finals.
“We will try to put up a good show,” said Roy King.
“Since we got promoted to the senior team, we have not been able to play in a tournament yet. Jhy Dar and I must make the most of this opportunity.
“The odds may be heavily stacked against us to clear the group stage and enter the semis, but we will do our very best to upset our seniors.
“Against favourites like AaronWooi Yik and Yew Sin-Ee Yi, we will be happy to just steal a game.
“Our realistic target is finishing third in the group. We will try for that.”
Roy King was also relieved that he can finally compete after a lapse of nine months. He and Jhy Dar last played in the Malaysian International Challenge in Perlis last November.
“It’s frustrating that we did not get to go to a tournament due to the pandemic, but again, if affected everyone and there’s nothing we could do about it,” said Roy King.
“I can’t wait to see how far Jhy Dar and I have come after months of solid training. I do feel like I’m a much stronger player than I was last year.
“Speed and power wise, I have improved by leaps and bounds because of the higher intensity of training with the national team.
“It’s good that we will finally get to gauge our real standard through this tournament.”
Roy King-Jhy Dar were one of the top 10 world junior pairs last year, and won two titles – the Malaysian Junior International Challenge and Indian Junior International Challenge.
In the local scene, they had won the National Under-18 and Under21 Championships in 2018 and last year respectively.
The men’s doubles competition is set to be the most thrilling affair of the tournament this week as it involves 10 pairs.
Group B features Goh V ShemTan Wee Kiong, Goh Sze Fei-Nur Izzuddin Rumsani, Low Hang YeeNg Eng Cheong, Chang Yee JunChia Wei Jie and Chen Tang JieNur Firdaus Azman.