KUALA LUMPUR: BAM coaching director Rexy Mainaky is impressed by the progress of young pair Choong Hon Jian-Haikal Nazri, but hopes they don't go back to their "playful" attitude.
Hon Jian and Haikal, who were only paired up in August last year, have shown remarkable progress since then.
So far they have won two Super 300 tournaments - the Syed Modi International and Orleans Masters, and one Super 100 title, the Guwahati Masters.
In that period they have soared to No. 20 in the world rankings, becoming the fifth-best Malaysiann men's doubles pair.
As for Super 500 tournaments, they reached their first semi-finals at this level, the Australian Open last week where they were stopped by China's World No. 8 Ren Xiang Yu-He Ji Ting of China.
"Haikal and Hon Jian have shown good progress, but I hope they don't go back to their previous 'playful' attitude," said Rexy.
Hon Jian also pulled double duty in Sydney, playing with Go Pei Kee in the mixed doubles.
When asked if Hon Jian, 23, will focus only on men's doubles, Rexy said there has been no decision on that matter.
"I talked to Nova Widianto (national mixed doubles coach) and he mentioned that Hon Jian has brought up the question.
"However, Nova said he will wait until the end of this year before deciding on what is his best category," added Rexy.