PHNOM PENH: “Let the coaches decide what’s best for us.”
That was the reaction of national mixed doubles shuttler Yap Roy King on his partnership with Cheng Su Yin after they won a silver medal at the 2023 SEA Games, here, today.
The 22-year-old Roy King, who is currently paired with Valeree Siow, said he will respect any decision made by the coaches should they feel the need to change his partner.
“I am still young, anything can happen. Whatever the coaches decide and, if it’s the best for me, I will respect it,” he told reporters when met after the final today.
Although the Roy King-Su Yin partnership was formed just days before the biennial Games kicked off, the pair stole the limelight by performing impressively throughout their outing here before going down fighting 22-20, 8-21, 16-21 to Indonesian top Rehan Naufal Kusharjanto-Lisa Ayu Kusumawati in a 56-minute titanic final at the Morodok Techo Badminton Hall.
Roy King, who admitted that Rehan-Lisa were stronger than them, said he was still satisfied with their performance today as they managed to give the Indonesians a tough fight.
Moving forward, Roy King hopes that his achievement in the Games would be the catalyst for him to play much better with Valeree in the upcoming tournaments, including a few European championships next month.
Meanwhile, Su Yin hasn’t thought of switching from women’s doubles to mixed doubles just yet, as she is looking forward to improving her partnership with her sister, Cheng Su Hui.
The 19-year-old Kedahan hopes that all the experience gained from playing in mixed doubles in her first SEA Games outing here will help her improve her performance in women’s doubles.
Asked about her next mission, Su Yin said she hopes to make the cut for the main draw as she is set to play in the qualifying rounds of the 2023 Malaysia Masters at the Axiata Arena, Bukit Jalil in Kuala Lumpur from May 23-28.
Malaysia concluded their sub-par performance in Cambodia with two silvers, courtesy of Roy King-Su Yin and the men’s team – and four bronzes from Leong Jun Hao and Lee Shun Yang (men’s singles) and Su Yin-Su Hui and Lee Xin Jie-Low Yeen Yuan (women’s doubles).
The last time Malaysia failed to secure gold in the biennial Games was in the 2011 edition in Jakarta-Palembang, Indonesia, where they only won a silver in the men’s team and two bronzes, courtesy of the women’s team and men’s doubles pair Goh V Shem-Lim Khim Wah. – BERNAMA
