PETALING JAYA: Newly crowned Macau Open men’s doubles champions Wan Arif Wan Junaidi-Yap Roy King cleared their first hurdle at the World Championships in Paris with a convincing win over a Japanese pair.
Oozing with confidence following their maiden World Tour title earlier this month, the world No 22 pair defeated the 34th-ranked Kenya Mitsuhashi-Hiroki Okamura in straight games of 21-5, 21-13 in 26 minutes.
However, the next round will not be as plain sailing for the Malaysians as they face the strong Thai pair of Kittinupong Kedren-Dechapol Puavaranukroh, who are ranked world No 12.
The other top Malaysian pairs in the men’s, women’s and mixed doubles events will be playing their first round matches tomorrow.
Men’s singles shuttler Lee Zii Jia will also be playing later this evening, returning to competitive action after five months out to treat an ankle injury.