Slow and steady: Malaysia men’s doubles shuttlers Choong Hon Jian-Mohd Haikal Nazri want to enjoy themselves more on court and try to regain their best form.
PETALING JAYA: It is completely different to be in the world’s top 20 compared to being an upcoming shuttler.
Just ask Mohd Haikal Nazri.
The 21-year-old Haikal and his men’s doubles partner Choong Hon Jian, 24, caught the eye as an exciting and dynamic pair and rose up the ranks rapidly over the past year.
The duo were only combined in August last year and after initially taking some time to find their feet, caught fire when they captured back-to-back titles in the Syed Modi International and Indian Masters at the end of last year.
Haikal-Hon Jian then continued their good form by winning the Orleans Masters in March and reaching a career high No. 18 in the world rankings.
The pair though have struggled since they started competing in World Tour Super 750 and 1000 competitions.
Haikal-Hon Jian suffered early round exits in their last three tournaments – the Opens in Japan, Korea and China but are currently still in the top 20 at No. 19.
Haikal admitted that he and Hon Jian were feeling more pressure as a top 20 pair.
“We have moved up into the world’s top 20 and it’s natural to feel more pressure. We need to adapt to this,” said Haikal after a training session at the Academy Badminton Malaysia (ABM) in Bukit Kiara yesterday.
“We are trying to figure out why we keep losing in the early rounds. Last time, we felt no pressure and just enjoyed ourselves on court regardless of which pair we played against.
“Our ranking was much lower, yet we could upset higher ranked pairs. Now, we need to handle the pressure better.”
Haikal and Hon Jian were forced to miss the back-to-back Arctic and Denmark Opens this month after the latter suffered a hip injury after the China tourney.
Their absence from the two tournaments coupled with their drop in form has seen them lose ground in the race to qualify for the prestigious season ending World Tour Finals from Dec 11-15 in Hangzhou.
Haikal-Hon Jian dropped two spots to No. 11 in the latest Race to Hangzhou rankings.
Only the top eight pairs can make the cut.
Currently, third placed Goh Sze Fei-Nur Izzuddin Rumsani are the only Malaysians in the men’s doubles assured of a spot in the Tour Finals while Man Wei Chong-Tee Kai Wun (No. 7) have a good chance to join the former if they can maintain their position.
Haikal though does not want to feel down for too long and has set his sights on playing in big events next year.
“Initially, Hon Jian and I did aim to qualify for the Tour Finals but after we kept losing in the early rounds, I told him to not put out hopes high,” said Haikal.“If we can qualify, it’s great but if not, it’s alright because we still have many big tournaments next year like the Malaysian Open and All-England, so let’s focus on these.”
Before that, Haikal-Hon Jian will return in the Korean Masters from Nov 5-10 and will also compete in the Japan Masters (Nov 12-17) and China Masters (Nov 19-24).
Haikal is itching for action and is hungry to do better in the three tournaments and end his year on a high.
“Hon Jian recovered fully and resumed training about two weeks ago. I can’t wait to return to competitions as it has been some time since we could play,” said Haikal.
“We have been working on our strategy and communication. I want to see if we can translate what we have been doing in training in the tournaments.
“We want to enjoy ourselves more on court and try to regain our best form.”
