PETALING JAYA: Men’s doubles shuttlers Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik will always choose court time over comfort.
That is why the former world champions are not complaining about the hectic tournament schedule despite their recent inconsistent form.
Instead, Aaron-Wooi Yik are happy to play more tournaments as they seek to regain their best form.
The world No. 2 pair suffered first round exits in three of their last six competitions including in the Hong Kong Open last month.
Men’s doubles coach Herry Iman Pierngadi stated the packed tournament schedule had not given Aaron-Wooi Yik enough time to rest and train.
The experienced duo, however, are refusing to give any excuses.
“Playing in more tournaments is actually better for me to maintain my on-court feeling. It’s the same with Wooi Yik. We always discuss about this,” said Aaron after a training session at the Academy Badminton Malaysia (ABM) in Bukit Kiara yesterday.
“I’m 28 this year while Wooi Yik is 27 and of course we need to take care of ourselves and prevent injuries but we still love to play in more tournaments.
“Every time we play in a tournament, we always go all out. Win or lose is secondary. Training and competitive matches are different though.
“Even if you give 100% in training, in tournaments, you can only bring out 50% sometimes because on court, you can be nervous, or your opponents are on top form on the day.
“There are many factors, so for me, it’s OK to play more tournaments. It’s not that we don’t want to win,” added Aaron.
Aaron, though, acknowledged that he and Wooi Yik might prioritise bigger competitions in 2027 when the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics qualifying period starts.
“Our main goal is the 2028 Olympics, so we might reduce our tournaments in 2027 when the qualifying period starts and focus on the bigger events,” said Aaron.
“Next year, we might still compete in many tournaments. We will see as it goes and adjust accordingly.”
For now, Aaron-Wooi Yik hope to bring out their best when they return to competition in the Arctic Open which starts on Tuesday in Vantaa, Finland.
The pair are the top seeds in the absence of South Korea’s world No. 1 Seo Seung-jae-Kim Won-ho and will open their campaign against Denmark’s world No. 26 Daniel Lundgaard-Mads Vestergaard.
Meanwhile, the other Malaysians in the fray in the men’s doubles are world No. 3 Goh Sze Fei-Nur Izzuddin Rumsani, world No. 8 Man Wei Chong-Tee Kai Wun, Yap Roy King-Wan Arif Wan Junaidi (No. 20), Mohd Haikal Nazri-Choong Hon Jian (No. 45) and Low Hang Yee-Ng Eng Cheong (No. 47).
