Bukit jalil: A long-awaited return to the semi-finals has given national men's doubles pair Wan Arif Wan Junaidi-Yap Roy King a much-needed confidence lift after a difficult start to the season. The fifth seeds booked their place in the last four of the Malaysia Masters 2026 after ousting American pair Chen Zhi Yi-Presley Smith 21-15, 21-19 in 33 minutes during the quarter-finals at Unifi Arena, Bukit Jalil, here today.

According to BERNAMA News Agency, it marked their first semi-final appearance of the year and their second at the Malaysia Masters after also reaching the last four in the 2024 edition. The current world No. 16 lost to the then champions from Denmark Kim Astrup-Anders Skaarup Rasmussen 13-21, 19-21 in the Malaysia Masters 2024 semi-finals.

Speaking after today's match, Wan Arif admitted the achievement came at the right time after the pair struggled to make an impact in the opening months of the season. "Before this, we managed to reach only the second round this year, not even the quarter-finals. It has been five months, nearly half a year. So, this will restore our confidence for the next game and the next tournament," he told reporters.

Wan Arif-Roy King will next face either Japan's second seed Takuro Hoki-Yugo Kobayashi or sixth seed Daniel Lundgaard-Mads Vestergaard of Denmark for a place in the final. Asked which pair they would prefer to meet, Wan Arif admitted they would rather face the Danes, having won all four previous meetings, while they are still searching for their first victory over Hoki-Kobayashi after three matches.

Wan Arif also believes their encouraging run this week is a sign that the partnership is gradually rediscovering its rhythm. Roy King said that expectations were modest coming into the tournament and that the pair had not anticipated making it this far. The Super 500 tournament, which runs until May 24, offers a total prize purse of USD500,000 (RM1.98 million).