Formula for success: Aaron Chia having a chat with Lewis Hamilton.
PETALING JAYA: Rubbing shoulders with seven-time Formula One champion Lewis Hamilton has inspired shuttler Aaron Chia.
Malaysia’s first badminton world champions Aaron and Soh Wooi Yik had a chance to get close and personal with the Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS Formula 1 driver on Thursday in Kuala Lumpur and the duo have come out of the meeting in a positive mood.
“I’m not like a diehard fan of F1 but I know Lewis for his amazing accomplishments ... he’s a seven-time world champion,” said Aaron.
Aaron-Wooi Yik ended Malaysia’s elusive chase for badminton’s first world title in Tokyo last month.
“It will be nice to be a multiple world champion like him and yes, I’m inspired to be a winner at the world stage many times, but what I’ve concluded after our short session together on life as sportsmen is that we live in two different worlds.
“Both sports are so different,” admitted Aaron.
After spending an hour exchanging thoughts, Aaron said it would be hard to pick which sport is more challenging as it will be unfair to compare them as they were both unique.
“We trained like seven to eight hours a day but the drivers don’t train long hours,” he said.
“Besides the training, the pressure, their thinking and the challenges are different. ‘‘Badminton is challenging in its own way.’’
Will Aaron consider swapping places with Hamilton if given a chance?
“Maybe, I can give life on the fast lane a try but I don’t think Lewis would like to change his suit and jump on the court,” said Aaron in jest.
Hamilton may not switch to badminton, not because the sport is less than challenging but the prize money offered for both sports are totally worlds apart.
While Hamilton and teammate George Russell are gearing up for the Singapore Grand Prix this weekend, Aaron-Wooi Yik are all ready for another smashing show in the Denmark Open in Odense from Oct 13-18.
