COVID ends Patatimo boys' title quest in France

KUALA LUMPUR: Young national men's doubles pair, Wan Arif Wan Junaidi-Muhammad Haikal Nazri's hope to land their first title of 2022 at the Orleans Masters in France were dashed when they were forced to withdraw from the final match today.

This came after Muhammad Haikal tested positive for COVID-19 just hours before the Malaysian pair were to step into the court for their final showdown against Dutch duo Ruben Jille-Ties Van Der Lecq.

The unseeded pair's withdrawal effectively handed Jille-Van Der Lecq the championship title.

"The Patatimo Boys' valiant run came to an end today after they conceded a walkover following Haikal Nazri's positive COVID-19 test. Get well soon, Haikal," Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) shared in a Facebook post today.

Terengganu-born Wan Arif and Muhammad Haikal of Kelantan had qualified for the final after they edged home pair Eloi Adam-Julien Maio 21-18, 21-16, in their semi-final match yesterday.

The world number 103 had pulled off one of the tournament's biggest upsets earlier with a 19-21, 24-22, 21-19 victory against world number 30 pair, Frenchmen Christo Popov-Toma Junior in their opening round match.

-- BERNAMA