In a rush: Men’s doubles pair Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik are anxious to make up for lost time and catch up on ranking points.
PETALING JAYA: Men’s doubles shuttlers Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik are set to make their competitive return in the Arctic Open from Oct 8-13 in Finland and are hungry to make up for lost time.
Wooi Yik has been sidelined with a fractured toe and has not competed since winning bronze in the Paris Olympics with Aaron more than a month ago.
The pair were forced to miss the Opens in Japan, Korea, Hong Kong and China.
National coaching director Rexy Mainaky has now confirmed that Wooi Yik has fully recovered and has returned to full training and is ready to compete again with Aaron.
“Wooi Yik resumed normal training on Friday (Sept 20). He and Aaron will return in the Arctic Open,” said Rexy after overseeing a training session at the Academy Badminton Malaysia (ABM) in Bukit Kiara yesterday.
“Both are anxious to make up for lost time and catch up on ranking points. They will take it step by step to get their rhythm in matches back.”
Aaron-Wooi Yik dropped from No. 3 to No. 5 in the world rankings due to their absence from tournaments.
The pair also face a tough fight to qualify for the prestigious World Tour Finals from Dec 11-15 in Hangzhou as they are currently in 15th spot in the Race to Hangzhou rankings.
Only the top eight pairs will make the cut.
Rexy though stressed that it was important for players, who competed in the Olympics to be fully ready to play again before returning to World Tour events.
“If you see, many of the players who played in the Olympics are either far from their best form or choosing to skip tournaments,” said Rexy.
“Some players might not be mentally ready to return to competitions, which is normal.
“For Aaron-Wooi Yik, we need to not just get them physically ready but mentally fine tune them as well to make sure they are fully focused again on competitions.
“As for the Tour Finals, it is still not impossible for them to qualify but if they do end up missing out this time, they can try again next year.”
Aaron-Wooi Yik have also been entered for the Denmark Open (Oct 15-20), Korean Masters (Nov 5-10), Japan Masters (Nov 12-17) and China Masters (Nov 19-24) after the Arctic tourney.
Meanwhile, Goh Sze Fei-Nur Izzuddin Rumsani, who recently turned independent, have joined Aaron-Wooi Yik in the world’s top 10 after capturing the China Open title on Sunday.
Sze Fei-Izzuddin moved up to a career best No. 8 from No. 12.
The duo are also almost assured of making the cut for the Tour Finals after going up two spots to No. 5 in the Race to Hangzhou rankings.
In the mixed doubles, China Open runners-up Goh Soon Huat-Shevon Lai Jemie rose from No. 12 to No. 10 in the world rankings and are now only one rung below national pair Chen Tang Jie-Toh Ee Wei.
Both Tang Jie-Ee Wei and Soon Huat-Shevon look set to qualify for the Tour Finals as they are ranked No. 2 and No. 3 respectively in the Race to Hangzhou rankings.
