In form: Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik in action against Denmark’s Kim Astrup-Anders Skaarup Rasmussen during their Group D match of the Thomas Cup Finals.
CHENGDU: Men’s doubles shuttler Aaron Chia believes that the Thomas Cup Finals is shaping up to be a great pre-battle ground for the Paris Olympics in July.
The one-year Olympic qualifying period officially came to an end yesterday and Aaron and partner Soh Wooi Yik will be Malaysia’s sole representatives in the men’s doubles – and the sole Malaysian pair with a chance of winning a medal.
In fact, the duo are counted to become Malaysia’s first gold medal winners at the Olympics. The duo had already ended the wait for a world title by winning it in 2022.
The world No. 5 pair are currently competing in the Thomas Cup in Chengdu along with most of the pairs that have booked their spots in the Olympics.
“We know which pairs we will be facing in the Olympics,” said Aaron.
“The Thomas Cup is a good platform for us to gauge our strength against these pairs. It’s a good preparation for the Olympics.
“There are a few other tournaments coming up too but our focus now is on the team meet. We hope to be consistent until the Olympics.”
Among Aaron-Wooi Yik’s main challengers in the Olympics, who are also playing in the team meet are China’s world No. 1 Liang Weikeng-Wang Chang, South Korea’s reigning world champions Kang Min-hyuk-Seo Seung-jae, India’s Hangzhou Asian Games gold medallist Satwiksairaj Rankireddy-Chirag Shetty and Indonesia’s All-England winners Fajar Alfian-Rian Ardianto.
Aaron-Wooi Yik could face any of these pairs in the knockout stages of the team tourney.
Aaron-Wooi Yik were the only medallists in badminton for Malaysia in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics when they captured bronze.
Meanwhile, the other Malaysian representatives in the Olympics will be Lee Zii Jia (men’s singles), Goh Jin Wei (women’s singles), Pearly Tan-M. Thinaah (women’s doubles) and Chen Tang Jie-Toh Ee Wei (mixed doubles).
Zii Jia is also part of the team with Aaron-Wooi Yik in the Thomas Cup while Jin Wei is competing in the Uber Cup Finals.
Jin Wei, Pearly-Thinaah and Tang Jie-Ee Wei will all be making their Olympic debuts in Paris.
RACE TO PARIS
Confirmed list (world ranking in bracket)
Men’s singles: Lee Zii Jia (No. 10)
Women’s singles: Goh Jin Wei (No. 32)
Men’s doubles: Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik (No. 5)
Women’s doubles: Pearly Tan-M. Thinaah (No. 14)
Mixed doubles: Chen Tang Jie-Toh Ee Wei (No. 9)
