KUALA LUMPUR – “It is not something to worry about,” said former world number one men’s doubles shuttler, Tan Boon Heong, on Aaron Chia and Soh Wooi Yik’s inability to progress beyond the group stage at the ongoing BWF World Tour Finals.
Instead, Boon Heong commended the duo for their fighting spirit and competitive performances in all three matches, noting that they never faced outright defeat.
Acknowledging Aaron-Wooi Yik’s challenges, Boon Heong emphasised the value of the experience gained in facing top pairs worldwide, considering it as beneficial for their Olympic qualification journey.
“Even if they (Aaron-Wooi Yik) lost all of their games and didn’t qualify for the semi-finals they fought hard in their matches.
“This is good for the process of qualifying for the Olympics, them getting the practice facing off against top pairs in the world and pushing them hard like this.
“If I were their coach I would not be too upset, as they were okay,” the former All-England champion told reporters at the Tan Boon Heong Academy Championships in Kepong, here today.
Aaron-Wooi Yik lost all three of their matches in the group stage of the Tour Finals, taking Takuro Hoki-Yugo Kobayashi of Japan, Chinese pairs Liu Yu Chen-Ou Xuan Yi, and Liang Wei Keng-Wang Chang to rubber games.
Boon Heong also noted the marked improvement of mixed doubles duo Chen Tang Jie-Toh Ee Wei under coach Nova Widianto.
Despite a challenging start at the Tour Finals, losing to China’s Feng Yan Zhe-Huang Dong Ping, the pair showcased resilience by defeating the world number two duo, Yuta Watanabe and Arisa Higashino, in a surprising turnaround.
Unfortunately, they could not win their last group match against Dechapol Puavaranukroh-Sapsiree Taerattanachai of Thailand.
“You can see plenty of changes to their game and they have yet to peak.
“You can also see their step-by-step improvement manifest in the form of beating Watanabe-Higashino whom they had never defeated before.
“I don’t think they will face any problems to qualify for the Olympics,” added Boon Heong. – December 17, 2023