PETALING JAYA: Men’s doubles shuttlers Man Wei Chong-Tee Kai Wun (pic) are hoping to turn around their form starting from the Malaysian Masters from May 21-26 in Bukit Jalil.
Wei Chong-Kai Wun defied expectations by finishing runners-up in last year’s edition of the tournament but have not managed to remain consistent since.
The world No. 20 captured the Taiwan Open and came second again in the Arctic Open after the Malaysian tourney last year but only reached the quarter-finals once since then in the Swiss Open in March.
Wei Chong-Kai Wun’s inconsistency saw them miss out on a spot in the Paris Olympics and were overlooked for the Thomas Cup Finals in Chengdu earlier this month.
The duo are now looking to get back to their best in the home tourney.
“We reached the Malaysian Masters final last year and want to play our best again this time,” said Wei Chong after a training session at the Academy Badminton Malaysia (ABM) in Bukit Kiara yesterday.
“We had around one and a half months to prepare for this competition as we did not have any tournaments during this time.
“We have been using this time to train well.”
Kai Wun said: “We are not satisfied with our performances so far this year as we have not been consistent.
“Mentally, we are not strong enough and tend to lose focus during matches.
“We have been getting help from psychologist Frederick Tan to overcome this issue and we are hoping that we can do better after this.”
In the Malaysian tourney, Wei Chong-Kai Wun will open their campaign against Taiwan’s Chiang Chien-wei-Wu Hsuan-yi.
A win will see the pair face one of their compatriots Choong Hon Jian-Mohd Haikal Nazri or independent pair Tan Wee Kiong-Nur Mohd Azriyn Ayub in the second round.
Wei Chong-Kai Wun will also compete in the back-to-back Singapore Open (May 28-June 2) and Indonesian Open (June 4-9) after the home Masters.
On their targets for this year, Wei Chong said: “We are aiming to break into the top 10 in the world as soon as possible.
“We also want to do better in World Tour Super 750 and 1000 level tournaments as we have not managed to get a breakthrough yet.”
