SHAH ALAM – The national top men’s doubles pair, Aaron Chia and Soh Wooi Yik, are ready to unveil a secret from their locker ahead of the Badminton Asia Team Championships (BATC), scheduled to kick off tomorrow at the Setia City Convention Centre in Shah Alam.
The world number five pair has been undergoing special training programmes over the past few weeks under the guidance of national doubles coach Tan Bin Shen, in preparation for their quest to secure a spot at this year’s Paris Olympics.
“The preparations have been going well for the BATC tournament, and we have been going through some new training preparations that we can’t reveal for now.
“I’m excited to play in team events like the BATC. It’s always interesting because teammates will be cheering for us, giving us a lot of confidence to perform better on the court.
“For me, all team events are the same, whether it’s the BATC or the Sudirman Cup, as events like this urge us to always perform better for our team at all costs,” said Aaron when met after the test court session at Setia City today.
Meanwhile, Wooi Yik is determined to contribute fully to his team’s efforts.
Identifying Chinese Taipei as the most significant threat in the group stage, he is focused on preparing his team for the challenge ahead.
“We have come up with many new strategies and focused more on our individual training for this tournament. Things have been going well for now, and we would like to help the team defend the title.
“Our coach might rotate our pair, but we are okay with anything as the team is very well-balanced.
“Players like Choong Hon Jian and Muhammad Haikal Nazri are a rising pair, and I hope they will also gain some match exposure in this tournament.
“From our side, Chinese Taipei is going to be a tough opponent as their top singles and top doubles are also here, making it a 50-50 match. We hope to reach the top of the group if possible,” said Wooi Yik.
In 2022, the Malaysian men’s team clinched their maiden team title, while the women’s team secured their place in the Uber Cup Finals on merit after reaching the semifinals.
The Akademi Badminton Malaysia (ABM) will field its strongest lineup for the BATC 2024 challenge by listing national men’s singles champions Lee Zii Jia, Tze Yong, Jun Hao, and Eogene Ewe Eon for the singles category.
In men’s doubles, Malaysia will be represented by the 2022 world champions Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik, Goh Sze Fei-Nur Izzuddin Rumsani, and Choong Hon Jian-Muhammad Haikal Nazri.
The men’s team, which is the tournament’s fourth seed, will battle in Group B against Brunei (tomorrow), Kazakhstan (February 14), and Chinese Taipei (February 15).
Only the top two teams from each group will advance to the quarterfinals.
Additionally, the top four teams from the tournament will earn automatic qualification for the Thomas and Uber Cup, scheduled to take place in Chengdu, China, in April. – February 12, 2024