PETALING JAYA: Malaysia cannot afford to dwell too long on their Thomas Cup exit, with another major assignment coming up in less than four months at the Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya from Sept 19-Oct 4.
The reminder came from national doubles coaching director Rexy Mainaky, who admitted he was disappointed, especially for Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik after their defeat to Liang Weikeng-Wang Chang as Malaysia lost 0-3 to China.
Rexy was also puzzled by the dip in form shown by the national doubles players compared to their showing in the group stage, particularly in the win over Japan.
In that tie, Aaron was paired with Tee Kai Wun and they beat Kakeru Kumagai-Hiroki Nishi.
“In the Thomas Cup, because it is a team event, we have to be more cautious. We cannot assume whether a tie will be easy or not,” said Rexy.
“The main thing is to focus on our own team and become more solid and consistent. From the group stage to the quarter-finals, we have to do better.
“We still have two years before the next Thomas Cup, but we cannot allow the same things to happen at the Asian Games. We need to realise this and improve for the Asian Games,” said Rexy in an interview with the Badminton Association of Malaysia.
At the 2022 edition in Hangzhou, Malaysia were knocked out as early as the second round of the team event after losing 1-3 to South Korea. Aaron-Wooi Yik, however, bounced back by winning a bronze medal in the individual event.
At the same time, Rexy will need to sit down with men’s doubles head coach Herry Iman Pierngadi to work out how Aaron-Wooi Yik can respond after their defeat to Weikeng-Wang Chang.
The latest loss to the world No. 5 pair marked their 10th defeat in 13 meetings overall.
“I will meet Herry first to hear his views on them (Aaron-Wooi Yik). From what I saw, the doubles players performed well from the group stage.
“It was only in the quarter-finals that Aaron-Wooi Yik were outplayed in terms of power, and were slow to close down spaces and played too defensively,” added Rexy.
