SHAH ALAM: National shuttler Aaron Tai can finally breathe a little easier at the Malaysia Games (Sukma).
After being under constant scrutiny over his involvement in the national scratch-pair reshuffle, the 19-year-old Aaron is grateful for a change of pace as he turns his attention to representing Melaka.
Aaron will partner Noraqilah Maisarah Ramdan again and will be entering Setia City Convention Centre as defending mixed doubles champions following their triumph in Kuching in 2024.
The individual competition will be from Aug 21-24 while the men and women team action began yesterday.
“The pressure is definitely less to play for my state,” said Aaron.
Aaron junior has been the subject of intense scrutiny following his partnership with his more senior namesake Aaron Chia in the last three Opens.
The duo had a less than ideal start last month with a loss in their debut together at the China Open.
However, they fared better in subsequent appearances by making the final at the Taiwan Open and quarter-finals at the Korean Masters.
Aaron said that the familiarity of partnering Noraqilah, 19, whom he has known from their days training together at state level, also had a calming effect on him.
“I’ve known her since we were kids. So this is special to play together and hopefully win again,” he said.
Aaron also welcomed the opportunity to take more responsibility as the leader in this partnership.
“When I play with Aaron he leads but here it’s on me. It’s still fun though because she’s good and we understand each other well.”
In the men’s team competition yesterday, Aaron and Ungku Ameer Aliff defeated Chia Chong Kim-Mohd Shazmir Irfan 21- 9, 21-13 as Melaka trounced Pahang 5-0 in the opening round.
