KUALA LUMPUR: National men's doubles shuttler Haikal Nazri is unfazed by the viral video which supposedly ridiculed him for his poor English.
Speaking to Timesport today, Haikal laughed off the matter, saying: "To be honest, I didn't know about this.
"In fact, I wasn't expecting to be interviewed on court after winning, so the whole thing caught me by surprise.
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"Is it a big problem? No, I'm not troubled by things like this.
"It looked somewhat comical, because Hon Jian didn't want to speak and kept looking at me. I found that funny.
"But on a serious note, it's not a big issue. My focus is on my playing career."
However, the video has drawn mixed reactions from badminton fans.
Some felt that Malaysian athletes should speak English well while others defended Haikal, saying no one should be ridiculed for not speaking fluently.
While fans continue to debate the matter, Haikal is looking forward to a well-deserved break with his family.
Haikal and Hon Jian, who only paired up in August, have since then made three final appearances and won two titles on the trot - the Syed Modi International and Guwahati Masters.
Hon Jian-Haikal have also moved up the world rankings. They are currently No. 52, behind Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik (No. 3), Ong Yew Sin-Teo Ee Yi (No. 12), Man Wei Chong-Tee Kai Wun (No. 19), Goh Sze Fei-Nur Izzuddin Rumsani (No. 26), and Low Hang Yee-Ng Eng Cheong (No. 46).