KUALA LUMPUR: Achieving little milestones along the way is a good indicator for national men's doubles Wan Arif Wan Junaidi-Haikal Nazri ahead of the new Olympic cycle.
On Friday, Arif-Haikal, both 19, clinched their third title this season when they came out tops at the Ukraine International in Kharkiv.
In the final at the Locomotiv Sports Palace, the Kelantan-born Arif-Haikal saw off India's Ishaan Bhatnagar-K Sai Pratheek 21-15, 19-21, 21-15 to secure their second straight title after winning the Hellas International last week.
Earlier in May, Arif-Haikal, fondly known as the Patatimo duo, won the Austrian Open.
"It's a great feeling to end our Europe stint on a high note. To be honest, Arif and I had targeted to win big here, and we did.
"Of course we have so much to improve on. This is just the beginning. We still have a long way to go if we want to play at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
"But we are on the right track. Our short-term goal is to break into the world's top 100 this year.
"From there, we hope to play in more tournaments and improve our game further," said Haikal.
Currently, Arif-Haikal are ranked No 200 in the world.
The young 19-year-olds were not the only winners in Ukraine.
Mixed doubles Yap Roy King-Valeree Siow wrapped up their perfect outing with their third title on the trot.
After winning the Latvia and Hellas International, Roy King-Valeree made it three out of three when they upset seventh seeds, Johannes Pistorius-Emma Moszczynski of Germany 21-19, 21-12 in the final.