Badminton: Roy King plotting his next moves after injury layoff

PETALING JAYA: Shuttler Yap Roy King is hungry for action after a short spell on the sidelines due to injury.

Roy King injured his right ankle while competing in the men’s doubles with Wan Arif Wan Junaidi in the Kaohsiung Masters in Taiwan in September.

The 22-year-old and Arif went down 18-21, 20-22 to homesters Ming Che-lu Tang Kai-wei in the second round.

The injury was a blow to Roy King, who had been rising steadily with both Arif and Valeree Siow in the mixed doubles this year.

Currently, he is ranked 60th in the world with Arif and 48th with Valeree respectively.

Roy King’s injury though is not serious and he is set to return to action in the Korean Masters from Nov 7-12 in Gwangju.

“I injured my right tendon in my ankle in Taiwan and needed to rest a while,” said Roy King.

“So far, it’s getting better and I can train again normally. I’m really looking forward to competing again next week.”

Roy King, who caught the eye after capturing a few lower tier titles this year, is keen to make his mark in higher level competitions.

The Johor-born won both the men’s and mixed doubles titles with Arif and Valeree in the National Championships in July.

Roy King also lifted his maiden international title with Arif in the Nantes International Challenge in France in June.

In the mixed doubles, the former ended his wait for an international honour with Valeree this year at the World Tour Super 100 Indonesian Masters in September.

Roy King also proved his versatility by combining with Cheng Su Yin to win a silver medal in the mixed doubles in the Cambodia SEA Games in May.

“I want to gain experience by playing in higher ranked tournaments with Arif and Valeree,” said Roy King.

“I also want to move up as high as possible in the rankings.

“In the Korean Masters, we want to play our best and try to upset higher ranked players.”

Roy King-Arif will open their campaign in South Korea against Che-lu-Kai-wei.

In the mixed doubles, Roy King and Valeree will also face Taiwanese pair Lee Jhe-huei-Hsu Ya-ching in the first round.