Minor setback: Aaron Chia (left) and Soh Wooi Yik were far from their best in their 18-21, 13-21 loss to China’s 75th ranked Liu Yuchen-Ou Xuanyi in the Indonesia Open semi-finals.
PETALING JAYA: Men’s doubles pair Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik’s tame defeat in the semi-finals of the Indonesia Open in Jakarta may seem like a cause for alarm.
But national coaching director Rexy Mainaky isn’t cracking the whip on the duo yet.
The Indonesian does not think that his charges are being affected by the pressure to end their title drought in Open tournaments.
The world No. 7 were far from their best in their 18-21, 13-21 loss to China’s 75th ranked Liu Yuchen-Ou Xuanyi and were left to contemplate another failure to break their duck.
This also came right on the heels of a quarter-final exit in the Indonesia Masters just before the Open.
When asked about the defeats and whether Aaron-Wooi Yik were burdened by the pressure to win their first title, Rexy said: “I don’t think so. In the Indonesian Masters quarter-finals, their loss was due to Wooi Yik’s food poisoning.
“In the Open semi-final against the Chinese pair, Aaron was off-form while Wooi Yik played better.”
Moving forward, Rexy wants his charges to switch their focus to the Malaysian Open from June 28-July 3.
“Aaron-Wooi Yik will get the home support during the Malaysian Open. I hope this will motivate them more,” said Rexy.
Meanwhile, he has called on another pair Goh Sze Fei-Nur Izzuddin Rumsani to be stronger mentally when playing against top-level players.
This was after the 12th ranked pair were eliminated in the first round of the Indonesia Open after losing in straight games to home pair and Indonesia Masters champions Fajar Alfian-Rian Ardianto.
Sze Fei-Izzuddin also lost out narrowly in three games to another home pair, world No. 1 Marcus Fernaldi-Kevin Sanjaya in the quarter-finals of the Indonesia Masters.
The Malaysian pair have not been able to raise their game after winning the German Open, reaching the final of the Swiss Open in March and the semi-finals of the Asian Championships in April.
Sze Fei-Izzuddin have yet to get past the quarter-finals after that and need to step up a gear if they hope to go far in the Malaysian Open and Malaysian Masters (July 5-10).
Rexy is placing his hopes on both Aaron-Wooi Yik and Sze Fei-Izzuddin to save their best performances for the Malaysian Open.
“I hope they can deliver their best performances so far and win the Malaysian Open title,” said Rexy.
