KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 13 — National men’s doubles coach Tan Bin Shen gave a score of 7/10 to his proteges Aaron Chia and Soh Wooi Yik over their overall performance at the 2024 Malaysia Open.
Tan acknowledged that Chia-Soh still made some minor mistakes in their playing style, which somewhat contributed to their elimination in the quarterfinals by world champions Kang Min Hyuk-Seo Seung Jae from South Korea in 21-16, 18-21, 13-21, last night.
“The crucial 11-10 (deficit in the third set) was very important because once they started making easy mistakes, it let the opponents regain confidence,” he told the press after the match.
The defeat suffered by the 2022 world champions saw Malaysia continue to yearn for a title on home soil after national badminton legend Datuk Lee Chong Wei was the last local player to win one in the 2018 edition.
Professional pair Ong Yew Sin-Teo Ee Yi also fell at the same stage yesterday at the hands of the 2022 champions Takuro Hoki-Yugo Kobayashi from Japan, 15-21, 9-21, in 34 minutes.
Asked whether reaching at least the quarterfinals is enough to solidify Chia-Soh’s position in the qualification for the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, the former national player is optimistic, suggesting the bronze medallists of Tokyo 2020 have a bright chance at the prestigious global sporting event.
Based on the Race to Paris rankings, Chia-Soh currently emerge as the top-ranked national pair, sitting in fourth place with 83,854 points.
A country can have a maximum of two representatives in each category in the Olympic Games if both are within the top eight positions.
The Race to Paris qualification, which began in May last year, is scheduled to end on April 28.
The 2024 Olympic Games are scheduled to take place from July 26 to August 11.
Meanwhile, Akademi Badminton Malaysia (ABM) coaching director Rexy Mainaky took responsibility and apologised for the failure of the national shuttlers at the 2024 Malaysian Open.
Despite understanding fans and BAM sponsors’ disappointment, he said they are determined to do better by motivating the players, especially in correcting the mistakes in the two nearest tournaments, the Indian Open from January 11 to January 14, and the Indonesian Masters from January 23 to January 28.
“I hope the players will give their last blood for every tournament they participate in. Challenge yourself and keep telling yourself you can do it, and let us fight with a lionheart because every step is not an easy way to grab your dream, as every player worldwide has the same dream as you. God bless,” he said on Instagram today.
Chia-Soh emerged as the only representatives under BAM’s auspices to advance to the quarter-finals, while other players, including the top women’s double Pearly Tan-M. Thinaah and the country’s number one mixed doubles Chen Tang Jie-Toh Ee Wei, went through a disappointing episode after exiting early at the Super 1000 tournament.
Luck was not on the side of the national men’s singles player Ng Tze Yong, who had to withdraw after losing 8-12 in the first set to Japanese player Koki Watanabe following a back injury sustained while trying to hit a smash in the first round on Wednesday (January 10).
— Bernama
