{
  "id": 20185344,
  "title": "Roy King: 'Mental meltdown almost cost us Kumamoto title'",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/11/15/roy-king-mental-meltdown-almost-cost-us-kumamoto-title",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-11-15T14:25:37.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "New Straits Times",
    "slug": "new-straits-times",
    "url": "https://www.nst.com.my/sports/badminton/2026/11/1578505/roy-king-mental-meltdown-almost-cost-us-kumamoto-title"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Roy King and his partner Aaron Tai's mental meltdown nearly cost them the Kumamoto Masters title. After a 10-3 lead in the first game against Japan's Takuro Hoki-Yugo Kobayashi, the Malaysians overcame the deficit to win the match 16-21, 21-13, 21-15. The 25-year-old King attributed the intense final to his team's mental fatigue, stating that they lost focus. To regain composure, Roy King instructed his partner to focus on the game point by point. Roy King and Aaron Tai had to battle their way to the final, defeating world No. 5 Goh Sze Fei, Taiwan's world No. 15 Yang Po Hsuan, and Denmark's world No. 14 Daniel Lundgaard in the previous rounds. Roy King acknowledged the challenging draw and expressed pride in his team's resilience. National assistant coach Chang Kim Wai praised Aaron and Roy King's bravery and composure during the long rallies, ultimately leading them to victory.",
  "summary": "KUALA LUMPUR: Yap Roy King revealed that a mental meltdown after surrendering a 10-3 lead in the first game against Japan's Takuro Hoki-Yugo Kobayashi almost cost him and partner Aaron Tai the Kumamoto Masters title on Sunday.",
  "key_points": [
    "Roy King's team led 10-3 in first game against Hoki-Yugo Kobayashi.",
    "Team lost focus, resulting in mental meltdown.",
    "Roy King instructed focus on game point by point."
  ],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}