Ong Yew Sin-Teo Ee Yi in action against China Ren Xiang Yu-Tan Qiang in the first round of Malaysian Masters at Axiata Arena in Bukit Jalil on Tuesday. — IZZRAFIQ ALIAS/The Star
Coach Rosman tells Ong-Teo to chin up after missing Olympics cut
PETALING JAYA: Professional men doubles shuttlers Ong Yew Sin-Teo Ee Yi have conceded defeat in their chase for a spot in the Paris Olympic Games.
And coach Rosman Razak apologised for his charges shortfall despite fighting hard for the tickets.
Yew Sin-Ee Yi were already facing a tough task to join world No. 5 Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik in the showpiece event before the All-England as they had to break into the top eight in the Race to Paris rankings.
The independent pair were in 13th spot and were facing a must-win match against China’s Liu Yuchen-Ou Xuanyi in the first round of the prestigious tournament but failed in their bid when they went down fighting 21-15, 21-23, 14-21 at the Utilita Arena in Birmingham on Tuesday.
Yew Sin-Ee Yi will not be able to make the cut for the Olympics even if they win their remaining three tournaments – the Swiss Open (March 19-24), Spain Masters (March 26-31) and Asian Championships (April 9-14) – before the qualifying window officially closes at the end of next month.Rosman was sad to see his charges miss out on the Olympics.
“Yew Sin-Ee Yi’s hopes of qualifying for the Olympics is over after the first round match,” said Rosman.
“We are disappointed with this outcome and will analyse what went wrong and try to improve their weaknesses.”
Rosman went on to express his gratitude to all parties, who supported Yew Sin-Ee Yi in their battle to qualify for the Olympics.
“We would like to say thanks to our main sponsor Lining Malaysia for supporting and believing in us in this journey,” said Rosman.
“We are also grateful to (Youth and Sports Minister) Hannah Yeoh and National Sports Council (NSC), who helped us a lot through the Road to Gold (RTG) project.
“Without their sports science support especially for Ee Yi when he was injured, they would not have managed to get as far as here.
“We want to apologise to everyone for our failure to qualify two men’s doubles pairs for the Olympics.
“Honestly, it was a tough mission with the men’s doubles being so competitive with so many pairs having the same goal.
“As a coach, I’m still proud of my players for going through this difficult phase. As professional players, they have given everything they had.
“We will keep fighting in the next tournaments.”
Meanwhile, Rosman is confident that Aaron-Wooi Yik are capable of winning a medal for the country in the Olympics.
“Although Yew Sin-Ee Yi have not managed to qualify, Malaysia will still be represented by Aaron-Wooi Yik in the men’s doubles in the Olympics,” said Rosman.
“We believe they will be able to bring back a medal for us.”
Aaron-Wooi Yik were the only shuttlers to capture a medal in the last Olympics edition in 2021 in Tokyo where they won a bronze.
