Hong Kong’s No. 1 men’s singles shuttler Lee Cheuk Yiu (pic) believes that he has to work on his mental strength as he aims to qualify for the 2024 Paris Olympics.
The 26-year-old Cheuk Yiu ended the season without a single title and that has made him doubt himself.
His last tournament was the Hylo Open last November, where he lost to Thailand’s Kunlavut Vitidsarn 18-21, 22-20, 5-21 in the second round.
The world No. 14 Cheuk Yiu admitted that he had a difficult time regaining his confidence as he had to constantly adjust his mindset.
“There’s nothing much that I need to improve right now, but I have to focus on building my mental strength,” he said.
“I doubted myself a lot after losing all of the tournaments that I competed in.
“It took quite some time to adjust my mindset by communicating with my coach, but luckily I feel better now.
“I’m aiming to boost my rankings and hopefully, to qualify for the Olympics.”
Cheuk Yiu will open his campaign against Japan’s world No. 26 Kanta Tsuneyama in the Malaysian Open at the Axiata Arena.
Cheuk Yiu is expecting a tough match against the Japanese but he prefers to focus on his preparations instead of thinking much about his opponent.
He wants to go one step further to make amends for his early exit in the previous edition, where he lost to Denmark’s Viktor Axelsen in the second round.
“Tsuneyama is quite good in terms of his form and style of playing, and he has good stamina.
“Last year, I crashed out in the second round, so I’m hoping to reach the quarter-finals this time,” said Cheuk Yiu.
A win will likely pit him against Taiwanese Chou Tien-chen or Shi Yuqi of China.
