PETALING JAYA: Can national men's doubles shuttlers Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik finally get it right at the Asian Championships after two close calls for their first title this year?
The world No. 2 pair will be out to defend their crown at the meet from April 7-12 in Ningbo, China.
Besides Aaron-Wooi Yik, the Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) will also field Man Wei Chong-Tee Kai Wun and Wan Arif Wan Junaidi-Yap Roy King. They will be joined by independent pair Goh Sze Fei-Nur Izzuddin Rumsani.
National doubles coaching director Rexy Mainaky has high hopes for Aaron-Wooi Yik.
"All our pairs are going. Aaron-Wooi Yik are the defending champions, so of course we want them to retain the title," said Rexy.
"I hope the others will also give their best."
This year, Aaron-Wooi Yik reached the finals of both the Malaysian Open and the All-England, but fell short on both occasions against world No. 1 Kim Won-ho-Seo Seung-jae of South Korea.
Meanwhile, Rexy said centralised training with the independent players ahead of next month’s Thomas Cup Finals in Denmark will only begin at a later stage.
"The independent players will not be joining us immediately after the European tournaments as they prefer to train on their own first," he said.
"The selected players will then join the centralised training in Herning, Denmark, before the Finals."
