KUALA LUMPUR – The underperformance of several top-seeded national players at the Malaysia Masters has raised concerns, especially with the Paris Olympics just under two months away.
In this year’s edition of the Super 500 event, three national representatives were touted as favourites.
However, they failed to meet expectations and have exited the tournament.
Top-seeds Chen Tang Jie-Toh Ee Wei were defeated in the mixed doubles semi-finals by compatriots and independent pair Goh Soon Huat-Shevon Lai.
Similar outcomes befell men’s duo Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik and women’s pairing Pearly Tan-M. Thinaah, despite both being second seeds for the tournament.
Ironically, all these players are part of the elite Road to Gold programme, aimed at securing gold medals at the Olympics in July.
Akademi Badminton Malaysia coaching director Rexy Mainaky expressed his frustration at their inability to capitalise on the opportunity to secure titles, especially considering the limited participation of the world’s best at this year’s tournament.
“Frankly speaking, we cannot accept the performance displayed by Aaron-Wooi Yik and Tang Jie-Ee Wei in this tournament.
“Yesterday, as I observed them, especially Aaron-Wooi Yik, my disappointment stemmed not from their loss to the Korean pair (Jin Yong and Na Sung-seung), but from their repeated mistakes.
“Tang Jie-Ee Wei, on the other hand, played very poorly from the first round, as if there was no good communication between them.”
Rexy stressed the urgent need for the players to understand what they had to do before the Olympics.
“For example, as you know, on the management side, we have already limited media sessions to try to reduce the pressure on them.
“We have done our part for them, but it’s up to them to turn it into a lesson because, as we can see in this Malaysia Masters, no BAM players made it to the finals.
“Aaron-Wooi Yik should have easily reached the final and won it, and the same goes for Tang Jie-Ee Wei, who had a great chance to become champions,” said Rexy.
However, Rexy explained that Pearly had just recovered from a back injury, which may have been a major factor in their performance.
“For Pearly-Thinaah, I can still say that Pearly had fully recovered from her back injury just a week before the tournament.
“We hoped they could at least make it to the final, and I believe if they could have done that, they would have had the chance to become champions,” he added.
All national players will next play at the Singapore Open starting on Tuesday, followed by the Indonesia Open from June 4 to 9. – May 26, 2024