NATIONAL men’s doubles pair Wan Arif Wan Junaidi-Yap Roy King are facing confusion in adapting to the philosophy introduced by head coach Herry Iman Pierngadi, according to National Doubles Coaching Director Rexy Mainaky.
Rexy said the confusion has caused Wan Arif-Roy King to lose their direction, resulting in numerous mistakes during their matches on court.
“They seem to be forcing themselves to play according to the philosophy introduced (by Herry). I have already discussed with them, especially Wan Arif who is confused and appears to have lost his way.
“However, we’ve started to see some results in the last tournament at the Indonesia Open where they managed to play three sets against their teammates Man Wei Chong-Tee Kai Wun. We hope they’ll be more confident in upcoming tournaments,” he said when met during a training session here yesterday.
Although they led 21-14 in the first set, Wan Arif-Roy King failed to contain the comeback from Wei Chong-Kai Wun and lost 11-21, 15-21, thus exiting in the second round of the 2025 Indonesia Open last month.
Since being guided by Herry, who began his stint with the Badminton Association of Malaysia in February, the world No. 24 pair have only managed to reach one semi-final, which was at the Orleans Masters in France last March, out of eight tournaments entered.
This situation is clearly different from two other national pairs — 2022 world champions Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik and Wei Chong-Kai Wun — who have shown a positive impact under Herry’s guidance.
Aaron-Wooi Yik have excelled this year by winning three titles — the 2025 Badminton Asia Championships in Ningbo, China, the 2025 Thailand Open, and the 2025 Singapore Open — while Wei Chong-Kai Wun claimed the 2025 Indonesia Masters and 2025 Malaysia Masters titles.
Meanwhile, Rexy revealed that national men’s doubles player Muhammad Haikal Nazri has not been as aggressive as before and has lost self-confidence after returning from a thigh muscle injury sustained during training last December.
The situation forced Muhammad Haikal and his partner Choong Hon Jian to miss several major tournaments including the 2025 Malaysia Open last January, and their world ranking has now dropped to 47th.
Although they returned to action last May, Hon Jian-Muhammad Haikal have failed to shine, exiting early in all five tournaments they have participated in this year.
Despite acknowledging the difficult period faced by Hon Jian-Muhammad Haikal, the Indonesian doubles specialist hopes both players will use the current break to regain momentum for their next outing at the 2025 Japan Open from July 15-20.
