Haikal tests positive for COVID-19, forced to concede Orleans Masters men's doubles final

Junaidi Arif-Haikal Nazri were forced to concede a walkover in their Orleans Masters men’s doubles final against Dutch pair Ruben Jille-Ties Van Der Lecq, after Haikal tested positive for COVID-19 on Sunday.

The unfortunate withdrawal comes as a massive blow for the promising young Malaysians, who were looking to pick up their first title of the year after a breakthrough 2021 season that saw them win three titles, all in Europe.

RESULTS: #OrleansMasters2022 FINAL#NED?? Ruben Jille-Ties Lecq(7) vs #MAS?? Arif Junaidi-Haikal Nazri - Walkover * Patatimo Boys’ valiant run came to an end after conceding a walkover following Haikal Nazri’s positive COVID-19 test. Get well soon, Haikal! ❤️#DemiMalaysia pic.twitter.com/TRTLBKjqbc

— BAM (@BA_Malaysia) April 3, 2022

Junaidi-Haikal had been outstanding throughout their run-in to their final, starting with their stunning first round victory over home pair and second seeds Christo Popov-Toma Junior Popov.

The world 103rd pair marched into the last eight after beating another established French pair in Lucas Corvee-Ronan Labar, and completed a hat-trick of wins over the locals with victory over Eloi Adam-Julien Maio.

Before the final, Arif spoke of the challenges playing the French at their home turf, and also during Ramadan that began on Sunday.

“There was some pressure playing the French, because they had the backing of a vocal home crowd. We needed to be strong mentally and we are proud to get past the tests.

“It is also our first time playing during the fasting month. We were undecided whether to fast the day before, but we had the energy and strong willpower to play first and open fast afterwards,” he said.

Singapore pair Terry Hee-Tan Wei Han won the mixed doubles title with a 21-12, 16-21, 21-13 over Indonesia’s Rehan Naufal-Lisa Ayu, while Toma Junior Popov bagged the men’s singles title after beating India’s Mithun Manjunath 21-11, 21-19.

Bulgarian sisters Gabriela-Stefani Stoeva beat Germany’s Stine Kuespert-Emma Moszcznyski 21-15, 21-14 for the women’s doubles title.