Tough times: Japan’s Takuro Hoki (front) and Yugo Kobayashi had struggled for consistency in 2022.
PETALING JAYA: Can Japan’s men’s doubles pair Takuro Hoki-Yugo Kobayashi rediscover their best form at the Malaysian Open from Jan 10-15 at the Axiata Arena and defend their title?
Hoki-Kobayashi, who became world champions in 2021 in Huelva, Spain, had struggled for consistency in 2022.
They failed to defend their World Championships crown at home when they crashed out in the quarter-finals to India’s Satwiksairaj Rankireddy-Chirag Shetty.
The Japanese duo also did not get past the group stages of the season ending World Tour Finals in Bangkok after suffering defeats to Indonesia’s Fajar Alfian-Rian Ardianto and South Korea’s Choi Sol-gyu-Kim Won-ho.
Hoki-Kobayashi had suffered further disappointment when they were stunned by Indonesia’s Leo Rolly-Daniel Marthin in the opening round of their home tournament.
Their inconsistent showings had seen them drop from No. 1 to No. 4 in the latest world rankings.
Despite their mixed performances, Hoki-Kobayashi did end the year with two titles – the Malaysian and Thailand Opens.
Curiously, they did not get past the last-eight stage of any other tournaments.
The Japanese pair will now be looking to defend their title and begin their year on a high note.
However, they face a tricky opening round match against Taiwan’s reigning Olympic champions Lee Yang-Wang Chi-lin.
The Taiwanese pair have also struggled to replicate the form that saw them capture the Olympics gold in 2021 and have dropped to No. 12 in the world.
If Hoki-Kobayashi get past Lee Yang-Chi-lin, they will play either South Korea’s Kang Min-hyuk-Seo Seung-jae (No. 18) or India’s M.R. Arjun-Dhruv Kapila (No. 21) in the second round.
A possible quarter-final clash against Indonesia’s world No. 2 Mohd Ahsan-Hendra Setiawan could await them if they overcome their second-round hurdle.
