PETALING JAYA: It is rare for players to hit the ground running under the charge of a new coach but doubles shuttlers Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik have shown that they are an exception.
And even doubles head coach Herry Iman Pierngadi is surprised with how Aaron-Wooi Yik had turned their game around.
On Sunday, Aaron-Wooi Yik captured the Singapore Open by beating a formidable pair in Kim Won-ho-Seo Seung-jae of South Korea to make it one of their best years in terms of winning World Tour titles.
It was their fourth final appearance this year and third back-to-back finals. They had won the Asian Championships in April and competed in the Sudirman Cup in China before returning to lift the Thailand Open and finishing as the runners-up at the Malaysian Masters.
"They have been playing for three straight weeks and still went on to win the title in Singapore...this is extraordinary," beamed Herry, who was hired by Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) in January this year.
"I think, there was a drop in their physical form in Singapore and that was expected but they made it up with strong determination to win. I'm proud of them.
Aaron-Wooi Yik will begin their campaign in the Indonesian Open in Jakarta on Tuesday (June 3) but Herry is keeping the boys on their feet.
"I'm not setting any big targets but I just want them to give their best," added Herry.
The world No. 3 will take on Denmark's Rasmus Kjaer-Frederik Sogaard in the opening round.
