Malaysia men’s doubles shuttlers Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik in action against Jin Yong-Na Sung-seung of South Korea during the quarter-final match of Malaysian Masters at Axiata Arena in Bukit Jalil on Friday. — IZZRAFIQ ALIAS/The Star
PETALING JAYA: Men’s doubles shuttler Ong Yew Sin believes that national No. 1 Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik are capable of beating any pair if they can hit top form in the Paris Olympics next month.
World No. 5 Aaron-Wooi Yik are preparing to make their second appearance in the badminton competition in the Olympics which is set to be held from July 27-Aug 5 at the Adidas Arena and will be one of Malaysia’s best bets to win the elusive gold.
Yew Sin, who missed out on a spot in the showpiece event along with Teo Ee Yi, feels that the men’s doubles competition is the toughest to predict and the open nature will suit any pair that can produce their best form, including Aaron-Wooi Yik.
“The men’s doubles in the Olympics is very competitive and it comes down to performance on the day,” said Yew Sin.
“Honestly, it’s very hard to predict who will win the gold. If Aaron-Wooi Yik can find their best form, they can beat anyone.”
Aaron-Wooi Yik won bronze in the last edition in Tokyo in 2021 and are out to upgrade the colour of their medal this time around.
The pair, though, face a tough challenge from the likes of China’s world No. 1 Liang Weikeng-Wang Chang, India’s Hangzhou Asian Games gold medallists Satwiksairaj Rankireddy-Chirag Shetty and South Korea’s reigning world champions Kang Min-hyuk-Seo Seung-jae.
The other pairs that can cause problems for Aaron-Wooi Yik are Indonesia’s All-England champions Fajar Alfian-Rian Ardianto, Japan’s 2021 world title winners Takuro Hoki-Yugo Kobayashi and Denmark’s 2023 World Championships silver medallists Kim Astrup-Anders Skaarup Rasmussen.
Aaron-Wooi Yik will also need to raise their game after failing to go past the last eight in their last three competitions - the Malaysian Masters, Singapore and Indonesian Opens.
Meanwhile, Yew Sin-Ee Yi are currently taking a break from tournaments after missing out on qualifying for the Olympics.
The world No. 18 pair last competed in the Asian Championships in Ningbo, China, in April where they suffered a first-round exit at the hands of Japan’s Ayato Endo-Yuta Takei.
“We had tried hard to qualify for the Olympics but we could not make it, so we decided to take a break,” said Yew Sin.
“Now is the best time for us to step back and give ourselves some space as we don’t need to chase ranking points.
“We have not stopped training though and we might return to competitions in August or September.”
