The pair, ranked world number 47, beat Denmark’s world number 18 pair of Rasmus Kjaer-Frederik Sogaard, 21-18, 14-21, 21-18 in a dramatic quarter-final backed by a vociferous crowd to reach their first Super 500 tournament semi-finals.
However, the young pair, winners of the 2023 Nantes International Challenge, gave fans some nerve-wracking moments, letting Kjaer-Sogaard to claw back from trailing 18-8 in the deciding game, before finally confirming their victory.
Buoyed by their quarter-final outing at the Thailand Open last week, Wan Arif-Roy King are set to face another Danish challenge in the last four stage against second seeds Kim Astrup-Anders Skaarup Rasmussen, who beat another Malaysian pair, Goh Sze Fei-Nur Izzuddin Rumsani, 21-19, 21-17.
The young pair previously defeated Xie Hao Nan-Zeng Wei Han of China in the first round and stunned world number 12 Lee Jhe Huei-Yang Po Hsuan of Taiwan 13-21, 21-15, 21-18 in the second round yesterday.
Speaking to reporters after the match, the pair promised to deliver another stunning performance tomorrow, with their eyes on the title.
“We lost focus at key points (in the third game), maybe because we wanted to win so much, but fortunately we managed to break their momentum. We hope to play better tomorrow and not repeat the same mistakes.
“Initially, we aimed for the quarter-finals, but now that we’ve reached the semi-finals, we will try to become champions, especially with the strong support of the fans here,” said Wan Arif.
Roy King-Wan Arif will be Malaysia’s sole representative in the men’s doubles event, as other pairs were shown the exit, including last edition’s runners-up Man Wei Chong-Tee Kai Wun, who lost to third seeds He Jing Ting-Ren Xiang Yu of China 21-18, 21-16.
The most disappointing result was from top seeds Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik, who went down 21-11, 19-21, 19-21 to South Korean pair Jin Yong-Naa Sung Seung.
After the match, Aaron said: “I think we hesitated a lot in the second and third games, giving them opportunities. We need to avoid repeating these mistakes in future tournaments.”