PETALING JAYA: Men’s doubles shuttler Man Wei Chong hopes to make another strong push for a medal when he reunites with Tee Kai Wun at the World Championships in New Delhi from Aug 17-23.
Wei Chong-Kai Wun came close to reaching the podium at last year’s edition in Paris, where their campaign ended with a quarter-final defeat to South Korea’s Kim Won-ho-Seo Seung-jae.
With semi-finalists guaranteed at least a bronze medal, Wei Chong hopes they can go one step further this time.
The Malaysian pair, however, face a tricky path despite receiving a first-round bye.
The world No. 11 pair are expected to open their campaign against United States’ world No. 25 duo Chen Zhi Yi-Presley Smith in the second round.
Should they clear that hurdle, an intriguing all-Malaysian clash against Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik could await them in the third round.
Aaron-Wooi Yik, however, will first need to overcome either Germany’s Jonathan Dresp-Simon Krax or Thailand’s Peeratchai Sukhphun-Pakkapon Teeraratsakul in the second round.
It will be an interesting reunion for Wei Chong, who partnered Wooi Yik in the last four tournaments before returning to his regular partnership with Kai Wun.
Wei Chong-Wooi Yik endured early exits in their first three tournaments together before finding their footing at the Taiwan Open last week, where they finished runners-up.
For now, though, Wei Chong is not looking too far ahead and is wary of the challenge awaiting him and Kai Wun in their opening match.
“I think the second round will be quite tough. If I’m not mistaken, we could be playing the pair from the United States and they have been performing quite well this year. We just have to prepare ourselves and do our best,” said Wei Chong.
As for his recent partnership with Wooi Yik, Wei Chong admitted he is still working to rediscover his best form after returning from injury.
While their run to the final in Taipei marked their best result in four tournaments together, Wei Chong felt there was still plenty of room for improvement in his own game.
“I wasn’t very confident with my own game. I had only just started competing again after coming back from injury, so I don’t think I played that well. My performances in the first few tournaments weren’t that good.
“I’m still trying my best to catch up with the others in terms of performance,” added Wei Chong.
