PETALING JAYA: The Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) high performance director Tim Jones is not losing sleep over men’s doubles pair Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik’s inability to end their World Tour title drought.
The duo, who are currently ranked No. 2 in the world, did come close in the Indian Open last month but were denied in the final by China’s world No. 9 Liang Weikeng-Wang Chang in a closely fought match.
“It’s obviously disappointing for Aaron-Wooi Yik not to win as they did get into a good position to do so,” said Jones.
“They had also played so well in the semi-final against Indonesia’s world No. 1 Fajar Alfian-Rian Ardianto and this was a huge positive for me.
“Their performance was probably the best I’ve seen over the last year.
“They were a lot faster, more explosive at the net and winning more of the first three shots.
“They are a bit inconsistent but they have the ability to convert their chances and win titles. It’s just a matter of time before they end the drought.”
Looking forward, Jones’ main target for Aaron-Wooi Yik is gold in the 2024 Paris Olympics.
“My main target for them is the Olympics gold. Honestly, I would rather they don’t win any World Tour titles until the Paris showpiece and go on to capture the gold.
“It’s important though to build confidence and gain experience by reaching finals in tournaments and winning titles.
“This will be beneficial once they do get to the Olympics final as they will be more relaxed as they’ve been in the position before,” added Jones.
Aaron-Wooi Yik, who captured the World Championships title last August, received a boost in their bid to end their wait for the elusive title when they were presented with the National Men’s Team award for their historic world title victory at the National Sports Awards ceremony on Tuesday.
Their next assignment is the Asian Mixed Team Championships in Dubai from Feb 14-19.
