ANN/THE STAR – Painful moments can either break a player or fuel a comeback.

For men’s doubles pair Aaron Tai and Kang Khai Xing, the disappointment from last year’s home tournament is now motivation as they prepare for the Malaysian Masters, which begins tomorrow at the Unifi Arena in Bukit Jalil.

The duo were left frustrated at last year’s edition after a controversial umpiring decision cost them a place in the quarter-finals. Swiss umpire Peter Meszaros awarded a key point to Denmark’s Rasmus Kjær and Frederik Søgaard, despite the Malaysians insisting the shuttle had clearly landed out in the deciding game.

Due to the controversial call, Aaron-Khai Xing lost focus and they eventually lost 10-21, 26-24, 16-21.

However, the pair have put the incident behind them and are determined to do better this time, with a place in the semi-finals among their targets.

“I think this year, like I said, we just want to take it step by step and one match at a time. We are not thinking too much about last year’s incident.

“Our target for this tournament is to play our best at home and enjoy the game,” said Khai Xing.

Aaron-Khai Xing will take on Taiwan’s Lai Po-yu-Tsai Fu-cheng in the opening round, and if they win, they will face either He Zhi-wei-Huang Jui-hsuan of Taiwan, or fellow Malaysians Wan Arif Wan Junaidi-Yap Roy King.

A good result on home soil would also provide a timely lift after their second round exit at the Orleans Masters previously.

Aaron-Khai Xing hoped the right tactics and strategy on court, and also good communication would take them far. “I think this year we have improved a lot in our communication and understanding on court. In terms of our physical game and attacking play, there has been improvement too, but I feel the biggest progress has been in our communication,” he added.