Busy, busy: Ong Yew Sin-Teo Ee Yi will play in the German Open followed by the All-England and Swiss Open in March.
PETALING JAYA: Independent men’s doubles pair Ong Yew Sin-Teo Ee Yi have been playing with consistency but the true test awaits them at the European tournaments in March.
Coach Rosman Razak said his charges have done reasonably well in the Malaysian and Indian Opens by reaching the quarter-finals but it is still too early to gauge their true form.
Yew Sin-Ee Yi were probably the most consistent Malaysian men’s doubles pairs as they have reached at least the quarter-finals in their last nine BWF (Badminton World Federation) World Tour events.
They made it to the semi-finals of the World Tour Finals and the Denmark Open and were runners-up at the Australia Open last year.
Yew Sin-Ee Yi are expected to play three tournaments in Europe – the German Open (March 7-12), All-England (March 14-19) and the Swiss Open (March 21-26).
The competitions are expected to be tough as most pairs will be gearing up for the Olympic qualifying period that will begin in May and will go on until April 28, next year.
“It has been a decent start for them but it is still too early to gauge their real strength. Europe events will give them a tougher test,” said Rosman.
“The competition level will be tough in Europe as the Olympic qualifying period will start in May and Yew Sin-Ee Yi have to be well prepared for the tournaments.
“A good run will give them the momentum to play in the Olympic qualifiers and fight for their place for Paris 2024.”
Yew Sin-Ee Yi skipped the Indonesia Masters last week and also the Thailand Masters which begins today in Bangkok.
However, they will not be short of tournaments as they are in the squad for the Asian Mixed Team Championship in Doha next month.
“They will be prepared and will be ready to play if they’re fielded in the Asian Mixed Team,” said Rosman.
Rosman also said that the pair’s joint training with the Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) pairs will most likely start tomorrow.
Meanwhile, independent mixed pair Goh Soon Huat-Shevon Lai Jemie will be the highest ranked Malaysians at the Thailand Masters after top seeds Tan Kian Meng-Lai Pei Jing also decided to withdraw from the tournament.
Soon Huat-Shevon will play Misha Zilberman-Svetlana Zilberman of Israel in the first round.
Chan Peng Soon-Cheah Yee See will play as an independent pair for the first time when they take on Taiwan’s Chang Koh-chi-Lee Chih-chen in their opening match.
