Big hopes for LA: Mixed doubles pair Chen Tang Jie-Toh Ee Wei had a promising debut when they toppled China’s world No. 3 Feng Yanzhe-Huang Dongping en route to reaching the last eight. — AFP
Target missed, but badminton continues proud tradition
PETALING JAYA: The shuttlers fell short of the gold medal target in the Paris Olympics but there were still plenty of positives to take from their overall performance.
Badminton delivered two bronze medals through independent player Lee Zii Jia (men’s singles) and national pair Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik (men’s doubles).
On one side, the gold still remained out of reach but on the positive side, badminton continued the proud tradition of contributing at least one medal since the 2008 Beijing Games and was the only sport to deliver medals in Paris.
Malaysian shuttlers have failed to deliver medals only twice in the 2000 and 2004 editions since badminton was first held in the Olympics in 1992.
This trend shows that the sport has a strong chance to deliver medals again in the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.
Kudos to world No. 3 Aaron-Wooi Yik for being the saviours again. They saved the blushes for the Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) at the last edition in Tokyo by being their sole medal contributors.
Aaron-Wooi Yik have also won medals in every major tournament including ending the country’s wait for gold in the World Championships in 2022.
The men’s doubles, though, is arguably the most competitive event and the duo faced a tough challenge with the likes of China’s world No. 1 Liang Weikeng-Wang Chang, India’s Hangzhou Asian Games gold medallists Satwiksairaj Rankireddy-Chirag Shetty, South Korea’s reigning world champions Kang Min-hyuk-Seo Seung-jae and Denmark’s 2023 World Championship silver medallists Kim Astrup-Anders Skaarup Rasmussen all vying for the title.
Aaron-Wooi Yik were pitted against Satwiksairaj-Chirag in the last eight and Weikeng-Wang Chang in the semi-finals.
The pair had lost to the Indians in their last three meetings including in the semi-final of the Asiad last October but managed to turn the tables on them this time but could not make it to the final after losing narrowly in three games to the Chinese duo.
National men’s doubles coach Tan Bin Shen said his charges gave everything they could to try to win the gold.
“Aaron-Wooi Yik really wanted to win the gold. Their preparations were good. I saw all their sacrifice and effort on court,” said Bin Shen.
“They were drawn against two tough pairs. They fought hard and managed to beat the Indians. They had to overcome some game styles that they were not comfortable with. They came close against the Chinese too.’’
Bin Shen was proud that they overcame Astrup-Rasmussen in the bronze-medal playoff.
Aaron-Wooi Yik saved four match points from 16-20 down in the second game to beat the Danes 16-21, 22-20, 21-19.
“The Danes are a very experienced pair and are clever at stealing points in high pressure matches. From losing 16-20 in the second game, Aaron-Wooi Yik still managed to fight back and win,” said Bin Shen.
“Mentally, they were strong to hold on and win in the third game as well. So, I feel they did well to win this medal.”
Aaron-Wooi Yik’s fighting spirit was also embodied by women’s doubles pair and Olympic debutants Pearly Tan-M. Thinaah, who defied the odds to reach the semi-finals.
The latter created history as the first Malaysian women’s doubles pair to make it to the last four in the Olympics.
Pearly-Thinaah gave China’s world No. 1 Chen Qingchen-Jia Yifan a tough fight before going down in the semi-finals and then lost out to Japan’s world No. 4 Nami Matsuyama-Chiharu Shida in the playoff for the bronze.
Mixed doubles pair Chen Tang Jie-Toh Ee Wei also had a promising debut when they toppled China’s world No. 3 Feng Yanzhe-Huang Dongping en route to reaching the last eight.
Despite missing out on a medal, the pair gave hope that they can fight for a medal in 2028.
Meanwhile, Zii Jia’s bronze medal win proved that independent players can contribute medals in the Olympics too and other professional players can take inspiration from his achievement and aim higher in their careers.
Hopefully, more shuttlers will qualify for the next Olympics and finally end the wait for a gold.
