Muhammad Haikal bin Nazri (born 26 December 2002) is a Malaysian badminton player.[1][2] He won three titles in 2021: Austrian Open, Hellas International and Ukraine International tournaments in the men's doubles event partnered with Junaidi Arif.[3]

Muhammad Haikal
Personal information
Birth nameMuhammad Haikal bin Nazri
CountryMalaysia
Born (2002-12-26) 26 December 2002 (age 21)
Kelantan, Malaysia
Height1.62 m (5 ft 4 in)
HandednessLeft
Men's doubles
Highest ranking28 (with Choong Hon Jian, 2 April 2024)
38 (with Junaidi Arif, 6 December 2022)
Current ranking29 (with Choong Hon Jian, 16 April 2024)
Medal record
Men's badminton
Representing  Malaysia
Asia Team Championships
Silver medal – second place 2024 Selangor Men's team
SEA Games
Silver medal – second place 2021 Vietnam Men's team
BWF profile

Career edit

2021 edit

Partnered with Junaidi Arif, they won the 2021 Austrian Open,[4] Hellas International,[5] and Ukraine International.[6] The duo also finished runners-up at the Latvia International[7] and Scottish Open.[8]

2022 edit

In January, Haikal and Arif competed at the Syed Modi International tournament. In April, they competed at the Orléans Masters but were forced to concede a walkover to Dutch pair Ruben Jille and Ties van der Lecq in the final after Haikal was tested positive for COVID-19.[9] In May, he competed at the SEA Games, and won the silver medal in the men's team event.[10][11]

A few months later, Haikal and Arif reached the quarter-finals of the Malaysia Masters.[12] In December, he captured the Malaysia International title partnered with Nur Izzuddin.[13]

2023 edit

Following a reshuffle in the national men's doubles department in February, Haikal began partnering Izzuddin, thus ending his three-year partnership with Arif.[14] In March, the new pair reached the final of Ruichang China Masters, but went down to the home pair of Chen Boyang and Liu Yi in rubber game.[15]

In June, Haikal and Izzuddin's partnership were dissolved after Izzuddin reunited with his former partner.[16] In August, Haikal began partnering Choong Hon Jian.[17]

In October, he and Choong entered the final of Indonesia Masters II and finished as the runners-up.[18] In December, the duo competed at the Syed Modi International. En route to their first BWF World Tour title, they defeated the second and top seeds in the semi-finals[19] and final, respectively.[20] The following week, they won another title at the Guwahati Masters.[21]

2024 edit

In late January, he was chosen to represent Malaysia's men's team at the 2024 Asia Team Championships.[22] In March, he and Choong clinched their third title at the Orléans Masters.[23]

Achievement edit

BWF World Tour (3 titles, 3 runners-up) edit

The BWF World Tour, which was announced on 19 March 2017 and implemented in 2018,[24] is a series of elite badminton tournaments sanctioned by the Badminton World Federation (BWF). The BWF World Tours are divided into levels of World Tour Finals, Super 1000, Super 750, Super 500, Super 300, and the BWF Tour Super 100.[25]

Men's doubles

Year Tournament Level Partner Opponent Score Result Ref
2022 Orléans Masters Super 100   Junaidi Arif   Ruben Jille
  Ties van der Lecq
Walkover   Runner-up [9]
2023 Ruichang China Masters Super 100   Nur Izzuddin   Chen Boyang
  Liu Yi
16–21, 21–19, 21–23   Runner-up [15]
2023 (II) Indonesia Masters Super 100   Choong Hon Jian   Kenya Mitsuhashi
  Hiroki Okamura
16–21, 18–21   Runner-up [18]
2023 Syed Modi International Super 300   Choong Hon Jian   Akira Koga
  Taichi Saito
18–21, 21–18, 21–16   Winner [20]
2023 Guwahati Masters Super 100   Choong Hon Jian   Lin Bing-wei
  Su Ching-heng
21–17, 23–21   Winner [21]
2024 Orléans Masters Super 300   Choong Hon Jian   Sabar Karyaman Gutama
  Muhammad Reza Pahlevi Isfahani
21–15, 18–21, 21–14   Winner [23]

BWF International Challenge/Series (4 titles, 2 runners-up) edit

Men's doubles

Year Tournament Partner Opponent Score Result Ref
2021 Austrian Open   Junaidi Arif   Lucas Corvée
  Ronan Labar
21–17, 21–15   Winner [4]
2021 Latvia International   Junaidi Arif   Muhammad Nurfirdaus Azman
  Yap Roy King
23–21, 15–21, 19–21   Runner-up [7]
2021 Hellas International   Junaidi Arif   Ondřej Král
  Adam Mendrek
21–16, 21–15   Winner [5]
2021 Ukraine International   Junaidi Arif   Ishaan Bhatnagar
  K. Sai Pratheek
21–15, 19–21, 21–15   Winner [6]
2021 Scottish Open   Junaidi Arif   Christopher Grimley
  Matthew Grimley
20–22, 16–21   Runner-up [6]
2022 Malaysia International   Nur Izzuddin   Goh Boon Zhe
  Goh Sze Fei
21–17, 21–16   Winner [13]
  BWF International Challenge tournament
  BWF International Series tournament
  BWF Future Series tournament

References edit

  1. ^ "Player profile: Muhammad Haikal Nazri". Badminton Association of Malaysia. Retrieved 23 November 2021.
  2. ^ "Players: Muhammad Haikal". Badminton World Federation. Retrieved 28 November 2021.
  3. ^ "It's been hip hip hooray for Haikal's partnership with Arif". The Star. Retrieved 9 September 2021.
  4. ^ a b "Hon Jian-Ee Wei, Wan Arif-Muhammad Haikal clinch Austrian Open titles". Malay Mail. 31 May 2021. Archived from the original on 2 June 2021. Retrieved 2 August 2022.
  5. ^ a b Fauzi, Ferzalfie (5 September 2021). "Pemain muda cemerlang di Greece" (in Malay). Harian Metro. Archived from the original on 5 September 2021. Retrieved 2 August 2022.
  6. ^ a b c "Two M'sian pairs bag third European titles in Ukraine". The Sun. 11 September 2021. Archived from the original on 11 September 2021. Retrieved 2 August 2022.
  7. ^ a b "Roy King, Valeree Siow cemerlang di Latvia" (in Malay). Harian Metro. 30 August 2021. Archived from the original on 30 August 2021. Retrieved 2 August 2022.
  8. ^ Raftery, Alan (29 November 2021). "Grimley twins win big title: "It feels amazing"". Badminton Europe. Archived from the original on 29 November 2021. Retrieved 2 August 2022.
  9. ^ a b Anil, Nicolas (3 April 2022). "Haikal tests positive for COVID-19, forced to concede Orleans Masters men's doubles final". Stadium Astro. Retrieved 27 July 2022.
  10. ^ Musa, Muzaffar (17 May 2022). "Sukan SEA Hanoi: Skuad badminton lelaki bangkit ke final" (in Malay). Stadium Astro. Archived from the original on 2 August 2022. Retrieved 2 August 2022.
  11. ^ "SEA Games: National shuttlers win men's team silver after loss to Thailand". Malay Mail. 19 May 2022. Archived from the original on 18 May 2022. Retrieved 2 August 2022.
  12. ^ "Only two M'sian reps left in the last four". The Sun. Retrieved 27 July 2022.
  13. ^ a b Zhang, Kevin (19 December 2022). "Justin Hoh Wins 2022 Malaysia International Challenge". Badminton Planet. Retrieved 15 August 2023.
  14. ^ "'Patatimo Boys' split, Nur Izzuddin confirmed partnering Muhammad Haikal". The Malaysian Reserve. 7 February 2023. Retrieved 15 August 2023.
  15. ^ a b "Haikal-Izzuddin go down fighting in China Masters final". The Star. 20 March 2023. Retrieved 12 August 2023.
  16. ^ Timesport (2 June 2023). "Next stop Paris, says Sze Fei after reuniting with Izzuddin". New Straits Times. Retrieved 12 August 2023.
  17. ^ "Haikal plots new targets with new partner Hon Jian". The Star. 14 August 2023. Retrieved 15 August 2023.
  18. ^ a b Peter, Fabian (29 October 2023). "Hon Jian-Haikal finally see the light with runners-up showing in Surabaya". New Straits Times. Retrieved 2 November 2023.
  19. ^ Timesport (3 December 2023). "Hon Jian-Haikal stun second seeds, reach Syed Modi final". New Straits Times. Retrieved 3 December 2023.
  20. ^ a b Anil, Nicolas (3 December 2023). "Syed Modi: Hon Jian-Haikal stun top seeds to clinch men's doubles title". Stadium Astro. Retrieved 3 December 2023.
  21. ^ a b Peter, Fabian (10 December 2023). "Hon Jian-Haikal win Guwahati Masters". New Straits Times. Archived from the original on 11 December 2023. Retrieved 11 December 2023.
  22. ^ "BATC 2024 draw: Easy path to quarter-finals for men's, women's squads". Malay Mail. 30 January 2024. Retrieved 17 March 2024.
  23. ^ a b K., Rajan (18 March 2024). "Hon Jian-Haikal crowned Orleans Masters champions". New Straits Times. Retrieved 17 March 2024.
  24. ^ Alleyne, Gayle (19 March 2017). "BWF Launches New Events Structure". Badminton World Federation. Archived from the original on 1 December 2017. Retrieved 29 November 2017.
  25. ^ Sukumar, Dev (10 January 2018). "Action-Packed Season Ahead!". Badminton World Federation. Archived from the original on 13 January 2018. Retrieved 15 January 2018.

External links edit