From boys to men: Roy King credits Aaron for instant chemistry

KUALA LUMPUR: Shuttler Yap Roy King believes partner Aaron Tai's maturity and their contrasting personalities have sparked their promising start as a men's doubles pair.

The world No. 55 captured the Arctic Open Super 500 title in Finland last month in their first World Tour tournament together, before reaching the semi-finals of the Hylo Open in Germany.

Despite being the senior partner at 25, Roy King credited his 20-year-old teammate for their instant chemistry on the international stage.

"I don't think it's because of me. I think it's Aaron because he's very different from other players his age. He's really mature," Roy King said.

"He has a more playful side to his personality, while I'm more of a quiet person. Maybe that helps bring out the fire in us on court."

Roy King said their contrasting personalities complement each other, while their attacking style also convinced the coaching staff of their potential.

"The coach said we're both attacking players, so we're a good match on court because we both like to attack," he said.

However, Roy King dismissed suggestions that he served as the steadying influence balancing Aaron's flamboyant style.

"I'm still learning as his partner. Even when I played with Tee Kai Wun and Arif Junaidi previously, I was still learning step by step," he said.

"It's not as though I'm already a steady player. Everything is part of the learning process, and that's how things have worked out."

In Finland, they defeated Taiwan's Lai Po Yu-Tsai Fu Cheng 21-19, 21-19 in the final.

Their Hylo Open run ended with an 18-21, 21-15, 21-18 semi-final defeat to Denmark's Christian Faust Kjaer-Rasmus Kjaer, a pair they had beaten in straight games at the Arctic Open.

Their performances convinced national men's doubles head coach Herry Iman Pierngadi to retain the pairing in his plans for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.

Roy King welcomed the decision and thanked the coaching staff, though he remains reluctant to set lofty targets.

"First of all, I want to thank the coach for believing in me. I'm not thinking too much about anything else," he said.

"I've also told Aaron that we should just take things step by step, keep playing and slowly learn from every tournament."

Roy King said their immediate goal is to boost their world ranking to qualify for the Malaysia Open in January.

"For the rest of the year, the target is to boost our ranking first so that we can qualify for the Malaysia Open next year. That's all," he added.Tai and Yap will compete at the Kumamoto Masters in Japan next week.