KUALA LUMPUR – “It felt like all the pressure was lifted off our shoulders.”
These were the emotions that ran through Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) doubles coaching director Rexy Mainaky when he knelt down before national duo Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik when they won men’s doubles gold at the 2022 BWF World Championships.
Rexy, who was on his knees after Aaron-Wooi Yik took down third-ranked Muhammad Ahsan-Hendra Setiawan from Indonesia in the final yesterday, said that it was his way of congratulating the players on their historic win.
“This was my way to congratulate the players on their historical win,” Rexy told reporters during a Zoom interview.
“For the whole week during the competition, there were high expectations from everyone, especially BAM, to see if we could create history at the World Championships by winning gold.
“So, when they (Aaron-Wooi Yik) won, the pressure and stress going into the championship was gone. We had finally done it.
“I fell to my knees to show Aaron and Wooi Yik my respect for their efforts, their fight. For all that they have struggled (for) what they achieved at the World Championships (to) become Malaysia’s first world champions,” he said.
Rexy added that the pair’s disappointing end at this year’s Commonwealth Games served as fuel for their triumph at the World Championships.
Aaron-Wooi Yik crashed out of the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham after losing to the host nation’s Ben Lane-Sean Vendy in the semi-finals.
“After Birmingham, we had about 10 days to prepare for Japan. During that time, we did everything we could to prepare them physically and mentally.
“We could see that Aaron and Wooi Yik were focused on fixing their mistakes, especially unforced errors. They were supporting each other after training and analysed their performance after each session.
“They were mentally down after Birmingham, but they used that as motivation to win the World Championships,” he said.
Rexy added that the win serves as inspiration for other national players, proving that Malaysia has what it takes to compete and win against the best in the world.
“Malaysia has been absent of a world champion for 45 years since the first World Championships in 1977.
“This win is now a huge motivation for the others to step up and give Malaysia more world titles.”
This is not the first time Rexy has created a world champion. In 2006, he guided English mixed doubles pair Nathan Robertson-Gail Emms to the world title, the 2004 Olympics silver medal, and also the 2005 All-England title.
In 2010, he was also coach for men’s doubles pair Koo Kien Keat-Tan Boon Heong, who finished runners-up at the world meet in Paris, losing to China’s Cai Yun-Fu Hai Feng. – The Vibes, August 29, 2022
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