KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 30 — Rising national men’s doubles pair, Man Wei Chong – Tee Kai Wun are planning the best strategy to tame former world number one, Marcus Fernaldi Gideon – Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo from Indonesia at the 2023 Malaysian Open from January 10 to January 15.
Even though the Indonesian pair, popularly known as ‘The Minions’, is seeded second in the tournament, the Malaysians, ranked 20th in the country, prefer to focus on improving their own performance instead.
Wei Chong, 23, and Kai Wun, 22 are thinking more about how to play according to their own strengths when they clash with their opponents in the first round at Axiata Arena, after losing 21 – 23, 19 – 21 in the Japan Open last August.
“This match will definitely be intensely based on the former world number one vast experience, not to mention several international titles under their belt. So we are making preparations on how to overcome our opponents.
“We have an idea but they may change their game plan later, so in the tournament, we will come up with the best strategy,” he said when met by reporters at Academy Badminton Malaysia here today.
On the inconsistent performance of ‘The Minions’ this year, Wei Chong said it may be because the 2018 Asian Games gold medalists have not reached their peak given Marcus’s leg surgery in March, which saw them lose their world top ranking since September 2017 and drop to 22nd place.
Meanwhile, Kai Wun said although the Minions’ inconsistent performance may present a golden opportunity, they should not be taken lightly.
“They have the skills and powerful smashes but we are prepared for it. Playing in front of the home crowd and with the support of family members will spur us on for a positive outcome,” he said.
Asked about their targets for the 2023 season, the pair, who won two Super 300 World Tour titles at the Taipei Open and the Syed Modi International in 2022, is hoping to break into the top 12 in the world and will try to collect qualification points for the 2024 Paris Olympics.
“We want to win the Super 500 tournament and hope to advance into the quarter-finals or semi-finals in all the tournaments we participate in because this year when we competed in the Super 1000 or 750 tournaments, we lost in the first and second rounds,” he said.
— Bernama
