NATIONAL men’s doubles shuttler Man Wei Chong (pic) won’t have his usual partner Tee Kai Wun at the Malaysia Games (Sukma) but that won’t be a discomfort in his quest to capture a medal in his last outing.
Wei Chong, who will be representing Selangor, will be combining with Jimmy Wong while Kai Wun will be donning Melaka colours.“In my last Sukma in Perak in 2018, I partnered Low Hang Yee and we reached the quarter-finals. This time, I want to do better and at least win a medal,” said Wei Chong.
The 23-year-old is also determined to bounce back after he and Kai Wun narrowly lost to Indonesia’s world No. 1 Marcus Fernaldi-Kevin Sanjaya in the first round of the Japan Open in Osaka two weeks ago.
The defeat brought Wei Chong and Kai Wun back down to earth after their euphoria of capturing the Taiwan Open title in July.
On his partnership with Kai Wun, Wei Chong admitted that they still had a lot of room for improvement.
“We need to work on our mentality and strength. We also have to make our game play more firm,” said Wei Chong, who is currently ranked 28th in the world with Kai Wun.
Doubles coach Tan Bin Shen, who believes the pair have a fighting chance of qualifying for the Paris 2024 Olympics, also emphasised that they needed to improve physically in order to stay injury-free.
“Both Wei Chong and Kai Wun have struggled with injuries in the past. They need to bulk up to be able to withstand the demands in training and tournaments. Sometimes, they want to push themselves more but their bodies can’t cope.
“So, hopefully they can improve physically and raise their levels and be more consistent,” said Bin Shen.
After the Sukma, Wei Chong and Kai Wun are slated to participate in the Denmark Open (Oct 18-23) and French Open (Oct 25-30).
