KUALA LUMPUR: Buoyed by their rapid progress in a mere six months, Haikal Nazri and Choong Hon Jian are now ready to propel their success to greater heights as they undertake a dual mission for the remainder of the year.
Haikal-Hon Jian have set ambitious goals of securing a Super 500-level title or higher, followed by breaking into the world's top 20 rankings.
Teaming up last September, Haikal-Hon Jian made an immediate impact by clinching three titles thus far, the most recent being the Orleans Masters in France last month.
Last year, they claimed two titles out of four finals entered, triumphing in India at the Guwahati Masters and the Syed Modi India International.
Their recent victory catapulted them to a career-best ranking of world No. 28. Now positioned within the top 32, they will be eligible to participate in all World Tour tournaments.
Haikal-Hon Jian will experience their inaugural Super 500 event at the Thailand Open from May 14-19.
Following this, three more events are scheduled over the subsequent three weeks — the Malaysia Masters Super 500 (May 21-26), Singapore Open 750 (May 28-June 2), and Indonesia Open Super 1000 (June 4-9).
"I don't anticipate feeling nervous, in fact, we're quite motivated. The more prestigious the tournament, the more we relish it," said Haikal.
"We're genuinely thankful to have reached the top 30 in such a short time. It only fuels our desire to pursue greater goals.
"We won't be resting on our laurels. It's only fitting that we set our sights on bigger titles from now on."
However, Haikal also stresses the importance of remaining grounded as they face increasingly tough challenges.
"We need to stay realistic. While we aim for progress, setbacks are part of the journey. When they happen, it's vital that we quickly regroup and bounce back," Haikal noted.
Meanwhile, Haikal also expressed his joy at the progress of his former partner Wan Arif Junaidi, who has now teamed up with Yap Roy King.
Before their split, the combination of Haikal-Arif was affectionately known to fans as the "Patatimo Boys," given their shared East Coast origins.
Although the duo narrowly missed their first career breakthrough, finishing as runners-up at the Spain Masters last week, Arif-Roy King's impressive performance catapulted them from No. 65 to No. 50 in the world rankings.
"I'm happy for Arif. I hope he continues to thrive alongside Roy King, as it instils healthy competition within our team," Haikal remarked.
"It's this internal rivalry that drives us to push ourselves further. For Hon Jian and me, we view our teammates as benchmarks to surpass rather than foreign pairs.
"With four senior pairs ahead of us, we're determined to chase them down.
"It's particularly pleasing to see both Arif and I making significant progress with our respective partners. When we were together, our highest ranking was No. 38."