Kumamoto Masters 2026: Tai-King Storm into Semi-Finals
The world No. 57 Malaysians beat Chinese Taipei's Lee Jhe-Huei and Yang Po-Hsuan 21-16, 21-12. They fell behind only twice and hit back with a run of points each time. It's the new partnership's third semi-final in five tournaments, and they're now Malaysia's last hope in Kumamoto.
Aaron Tai and Yap Roy King are into the men's doubles semi-finals of the Kumamoto Masters Japan after beating Chinese Taipei's Lee Jhe-Huei and Yang Po-Hsuan 21-16, 21-12 on Friday.
The world No. 57 Malaysians needed just 28 minutes to beat the world No. 15 pair in the quarter-finals of the Super 500 tournament at the Kumamoto Prefectural Gymnasium. They fell behind only twice in the 70-point match, at 2-3 in the first game and 6-7 in the second, and both times they hit back straight away. Aaron Tai-Roy King are Malaysia's last representatives in Kumamoto. This is their third semi-final in the five tournaments they've played since teaming up in October.
It was their second straight-games win over a higher-ranked pair in two days. On Thursday, they beat fourth seeds Goh Sze Fei and Nur Izzuddin, the world No. 5 pair, 21-14, 21-15 in an all-Malaysian second-round match that also lasted 28 minutes.
They opened on Tuesday with a 21-8, 21-14 win over Japan's Kakeru Kumagai and Hiroki Nishi. They've won all six games they've played this week and conceded just 79 points, an average of just over 13 per game. No pair has reached 17 points in a game against them.
That was when the Taiwanese pair made their strongest push. They won three points in a row, their longest run of the match, to close the gap to 17-16. The Malaysians replied with four in a row to take the game 21-16 on their first game point.
The partnership is still very new. Aaron Tai and Roy King won the Arctic Open in Vantaa, Finland, on 11 October in their first tournament together, beating Chinese Taipei's Tsai Fu Cheng and Lai Po Yu in the final. It was Aaron Tai's first title. Afterwards, Roy King said he hoped the partnership could continue, and their results since then make a strong case for it. Their world ranking of 57 reflects how recently they started playing together more than their level. BWF ranks doubles pairs as partnerships, so they've had only five tournaments to earn ranking points.
Aaron Tai-Roy King will play for a place in Sunday's final on Saturday, 14 November. They'll face the winners of the quarter-final between Denmark's Daniel Lundgaard and Mads Vestergaard, the world No. 14 pair, and Japan's Hiroki Okamura and Kyohei Yamashita, who are ranked 26th.
Credit Photo : Screenshots BWF
