PETALING JAYA: Malaysian men’s doubles pair Tee Kai Wun-Yap Roy King have captured their maiden title at the Korea Masters, just a month after being paired together as an experimental scratch duo by the Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM).
The duo, who have only played in three tournaments together, defeated compatriots Soh Wooi Yik-Man Wei Chong 21-13, 21-18 in 31 minutes at the Gimnasium Yi Sun-sin in Asan, South Korea to clinch the title.
This is Malaysia’s second title at the event since its inception 19 years ago, with Wooi Yik and his previous partner Aaron Chia winning the first in 2024.
Malaysian shuttlers have never found success in the other categories at the Korea Masters.
As champions, Kai Wun-Roy King take home US$18,959 (RM77,478) in prize money while the runners-up in the World Tour Super 300 tournament will receive US$9,120 (RM37,268).
In the China Masters and Taipei Open before this, Kai Wun-Roy King were knocked out in the opening rounds.
Wooi Yik-Wei Chong, who were also just paired last month, have also shown improvements after being eliminated in the first round and last 16 stages in the two tournaments before this.
Kai Wun will resume his regular partnership with Wei Chong while Wooi Yik and Aaron Chia will be reunited at the prestigious World Championships from Aug 17-24 in New Delhi, India.
This is because qualification for this championship is based on their current ranking under the Badminton World Federation (BWF).
Malaysia have experimented with several scratch pairings in the men’s doubles over the past month across the Japan Open, China Open, Taiwan Open and Korea Masters to evaluate combinations ahead of the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles, the US.
The partnerships are Aaron Chia-Aaron Tai, Wooi Yik-Wei Chong, Kai Wun-Roy King and Wan Arif Wan Junaidi-Tan Khai Xing.
The BAM coaching panel will meet after the World Championships to evaluate the performances of the pairs before deciding their future partnerships.
