KUALA LUMPUR, March 31 — National men’s badminton doubles pair Wan Muhammad Arif Wan Junaidi-Yap Roy King are now a step away from landing their maiden World Tour title after reaching the Spain Masters final in Madrid yesterday.
The world number 65 pair, who have been partners since March last year, delivered an impressive performance by defeating the brothers, Christo Popov-Toma Junior Popov of France, ranked 45th in the world, 21-17, 21-17 during the semi-finals of the Super 300 event held at the Centro Deportivo Municipal Gallur.
In the final, Arif and Yap will face Indonesians Sabar Karyaman Gutama-Moh Reza Pahlevi Isfahani.
Sabar-Moh Reza had to dig deep before overcoming Denmark’s William Kryger Boe-Christian Faust Kjaer 21-15, 16-21, 21-15 in the other last four tie.
Today’s final presents a significant opportunity for the Malaysians to avenge their semi-finals defeat at the hands of the Orleans Masters 2024 runner-up duo in the Indonesia Masters, 13-21, 19-21, in September last year.
— Bernama
