KUALA LUMPUR: National men's doubles shuttler Wan Arif Junaidi is willing to bide his time as he patiently awaits the return of his injured partner, Yap Roy King.
The 21-year-old has enjoyed a considerably good year with Roy King, with whom he formed a partnership in March following a reshuffle.
Together, they won the Nantes International Challenge in June and emerged as national champions in July.
But Arif-Roy King ended the year on a rather sour note after withdrawing from the Syed Modi India International quarter-finals last month due to an injury to the latter.
It was later confirmed that Roy King was suffering from a medial and lateral meniscus tear in his left knee, along with a strained ACL (anterior cruciate ligament) and MCL (medial collateral ligament). Currently, he is undergoing light rehabilitation work, focusing on his upper body.
Arif revealed that Roy King will need six to eight weeks to fully recover.
"With Roy King out, I do not expect to see action until February or March next year," said Arif.
"I have not heard anything from the coaches regarding whether I'll be teamed up with others at this point, but that's fine with me because I want to make the most of these two months to improve my individual performance.
"I told Roy King too that he should rest well and refrain from rushing back because the last thing we want is for him to aggravate his injury and be forced into another lengthy sideline.
"After some time, our partnership is already solid, and I foresee that we can go far. We communicate well both on and off the court, and our respective strengths complement each other's game.
"We made it to world No. 60, and the next immediate goal is definitely to break into the top 30."
It's easy to understand why Arif looks forward to forging a long-lasting partnership with Roy King, as he had previously lost what he had built with former partner Haikal Nazri since their time in the junior squad.
Fondly known as the "Patatimo Boys" (due to their origins from the East Coast), they won several lower-tier titles and once ranked as high as No. 38 before a reshuffle in the men's doubles department resulted in their split.
The reshuffle took place after Nur Izzuddin Rumsani and Goh Sze Fei decided to part ways, with the former citing a loss of trust in his partner. In a twist of events, the duo patched up and reunited barely five months later in June.
Haikal, initially paired up with Izzuddin during this brief period, then had to form a new combination with Choong Hon Jian.
The duo clicked well and sparkled brightly when they won the back-to-back Syed Modi India International and Guwahati Masters Super 100.
"I'm really happy for Haikal. Being his former partner and current training mate, I feel proud of what he has achieved," said Arif.
"It definitely motivates me to catch up with him and Hong Jian and the rest of our higher-ranked seniors too."