KUALA LUMPUR – Tokyo 2020 Olympics men’s doubles bronze medalist Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik are on track to face two prestigious team tournaments – the Sudirman Cup and the Thomas Cup – in over a month.
Armed with the spirit of the Olympics, Aaron thinks it is not a big problem for him to return to show his potential after undergoing quarantine for two weeks and resting following his return from Tokyo.
“I feel 95 percent ready, the spirit and “fire” from Tokyo is still there. So I think it is not a big problem for us to take time to recover,” he told a press conference after attending the Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) incentive handover ceremony at Akademi Badminton Malaysia (ABM) (ABM) here today.
Aaron, who together with Wooi Yik form the main doubles pairing for the two tournaments, advised the younger players who will be named by BAM to be in the national squads not to feel nervous, but instead give their best by fighting hard
Meanwhile, Wooi Yik said they needed to further beef up their mental and physical preparation after undergoing quarantine, but hoped to give their best at the two tournaments.
“After returning from the Olympics, we just started training three weeks ago and in two weeks we have to leave for the Sudirman Cup, followed by the Thomas Cup. Since Goh V Shem-Tan Wee Kiong left BAM two years ago, we have to take responsibility as the national number one (pair).
“There is a burden and differences, but we have learned from experience by participating in many big tournaments and at the Olympics we got bronze. So with this motivation, we hope we can continue this struggle for a few more years until the 2024 Paris Olympics,” he said.
The Sudirman Cup, a mixed team tournament, is scheduled to take place in Vantaa, Finland from Sept 26 to Oct 3, followed by the Thomas Cup, the top men’s team tournament in the world, in Aarhus, Denmark from Oct 9-17.
BAM will announce the line-ups of the national squads for the Sudirman, Thomas and Uber Cups this Saturday, which are expected to be lined up with young players and back-up players.
Earlier, the two players received had received rewards of RM120,000 from BAM and RM60,000 from 100Plus for their feat in Tokyo.
Asked how they would be spending the windfall, the duo said they wanted to save the money first for the future, family and home purchase.
