KUALA LUMPUR — Malaysia’s top men’s doubles pair Aaron Chia and Soh Wooi Yik have gotten a feel for the arena where they will compete during the Paris Olympics.
Unfortunately, the world number five pair were sent home in the quarter-finals of the French Open today by reigning world champions Kang Min-hyuk and Seo Seung-jae of South Korea, 21-19, 21-16 in 43 minutes.
However, Aaron said that they have taken note of the conditions at the Port de la Chapelle Arena, having played three matches there this week.
“This arena is quite suitable for the Olympics, and after playing three games here, I have no complaints.
“But it is quite windy, and we need to be aware of this (when we return for the Olympics).
“Of course, we didn’t know about the conditions before coming here and will take note of this.
“The conditions here are more suitable for an attacking game with little lifting,” Aaron told the BWF.
Regarding the Super 750 event match today, Wooi Yik mentioned that he and his partner had put forth their best effort against the world number two Koreans and gained valuable lessons from the experience.
“We want to assess our condition because the Olympics are near. We are in the process of improving and have identified areas for improvement from this match.
“We have much ground to cover with the players above us in the world rankings. It is crucial for us to analyse them, and I hope in the coming months we can figure out what we need to do to beat them,” he said. — March 8, 2024