Working hard: Man Wei Chong-Tee Kai Wun will be recharged and ready for their upcoming tournaments after winning the Taiwan Open on Sunday.
PETALING JAYA: National doubles coaching director Rexy Mainaky is under no illusion that men’s doubles Man Wei Chong-Tee Kai Wun are good enough to challenge the top 10 pairs.
Wei Chong-Kai Wun defended their Taiwan Open title on Sunday but Rexy did not want to jump for joy as the tournament is a super 300 event where Malaysia’s independent pair Ong Yew Sin-Teo Ee Yi, the world No 6, were the only strongest pair in the competition.
Rexy will remember too well that the duo did not win anything since clinching their first Badminton World Federation (BWF) tour title at the same tournament last year and believed that starting to praise them too early may not bring the desired results.
Wei Chong-Kai Wun could not use last year’s Taiwan Open success as a launchpad. Instead, they kept losing in the preliminary rounds and faced injury issues too.
They did put up a spirited run in the Malaysian Masters last month where they finished runners-up but lost in the third round of the Singapore Open and in the second round of the Indonesia Open earlier this month.
Rexy, while happy to see them taking their chances, reminded that it was premature to raise praises to the skies.
“At the moment, they have no pressure because they are the underdogs. So, I cannot say that they have earned the confidence to challenge the top 10 players yet,” said Rexy.
“It is good for them to win the Taiwan Open as it will boost their morale but the event did not attract the top pairs.
“They must prove it when they compete in the South Korean and Japan Opens next month where the top pairs will play. That’s where they will face the true test and will show whether they can challenge the strong pairs.
“They must do well in the super 750 and super 1000 events where competition is very high.”
The victory should help Wei Chong-Kai Wun, ranked world No 23, to break into the top 20 but they must ensure they do not slip up again.
Kai Wun, 23, was happy with the way they had played to win in Taiwan and wants to continue their progress after this.
“Happy to win our first title and we appreciate all the people who had faith in us and continued supporting. We will stay humble and keep working harder to achieve more results,” stated Kai Wun in his Instagram page.
“We will be recharged and ready for our upcoming tournaments.”
The Korean Open will be held in Yeosu from July 18-23 while Japan Open will be held in Tokyo from July 25-30.
Their progress may also have some positive effect on the top Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) pair Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik who can hope on the youngsters to share the burden on the international scene.
However, the scenario is only possible if Wei Chong-Kai Wun perform consistently as preached by Rexy and establish themselves among the top 10 pairs, not just in ranking but also in terms of quality, from now onwards.
