Steady progress: Tan Wee Kiong (front) and Nur Mohd Azriyn Ayub beat Indonesia’s Shohibul Fikri-Daniel Marthin en-route to reaching the semi-finals of the Macau Open last month.
PETALING JAYA: Men’s doubles shuttler Tan Wee Kiong is 35 but he has not lost his desire to win.
Wee Kiong, who captured silver in the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics with former partner Goh V Shem, might not be as quick as he was during his peak years but has been performing reasonably well with Nur Mohd Azriyn Ayub this year.
The independent pair pulled off an impressive win over Indonesia’s Shohibul Fikri-Daniel Marthin en-route to reaching the semi-finals of the Macau Open last month.
Wee Kiong-Azriyn also made it into last four of the Taiwan Masters in June.
Their encouraging form saw them move up to No. 39 in the latest world rankings.
“I don’t think much about getting older. Winning motivates me a lot,” said Wee Kiong.
“Nowadays, everyone is very fast. I might be slower now but Azriyn and I are trying to keep up.
“In tournaments, the men’s doubles competition is always very close to call and seeding is only just a number.
“I still train like normal every day. Hopefully, with my experience and Azriyn’s ability, we can achieve something special together,” added Wee Kiong.
Wee Kiong only combined with the 31-year-old Azriyn last year after ending his partnership with mixed doubles specialist Tan Kian Meng.
The duo train under coaches Rosman Razak and Teo Kok Siang along with the likes of world No. 8 Goh Sze Fei-Nur Izzuddin Rumsani, world No. 20 Ong Yew Sin-Teo Ee Yi and Low Hang Yee-Ng Eng Cheong (No. 52).
The healthy competition between the pairs has proved beneficial.
Wee Kiong-Azriyn now hope to win a title together soon.
“We hope to win a title but our habit is to not think about it too much,” said Wee Kiong.
“We are getting better and we just want to keep going.”
