Use 2023 M’sia Masters to collect Olympic points, BAM tells national shuttlers

KUALA LUMPUR – The 2023 Malaysia Masters will be the hotspot for some of the best badminton players around the world to make their mark as it will be the first World Tour tournament that will count towards Olympic qualifying points.

Badminton Association of Malaysia president Tan Sri Mohamad Norza Zakaria said Malaysian shuttlers must take this opportunity to do well in kickstarting their points collection on home ground.

“The Malaysia Masters is especially crucial for all participating athletes because it will be part of the qualification pathway to the Paris 2024 Olympics,” said Norza when met at the 2023 Malaysia Masters press event in Bukit Kiara here, today.

“Malaysian shuttlers should be proud of the tournament being held on home soil and use that to their advantage.

“Based on the confirmation we received from players of other countries, many of the men’s singles top 10 players will participate in the tournament because after they competed at the Sudirman Cup in China, they will come here right away.”

Badminton players will need to accumulate points during the Olympic qualifying period from May 1 this year to April 28 next year.

Being part of the 11 Malaysian shuttlers listed under the Road to Gold (RTG) programme, women’s doubles pair Pearly Tan-M Thinaah and men’s doubles duo Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik will also be fielded at the Malaysia Masters.

Admittedly nervous to start the Olympic qualification period, Aaron said he and Wooi Yik have been training hard to ensure more consistency in their gameplay.

However, when asked about their target for the Masters, Aaron said they have not set any.

“I am excited but also nervous a bit because we are about to start the Olympic qualifying period.

“Although we have not set any target for ourselves, we will be sure to be well prepared,” he said when met at the same press event.

The reigning world champion added he hoped the new training method provided by Akademi Badminton Malaysia (ABM) recently would be able to help them improve their form.

The video simulations that were introduced two weeks ago were aimed to help ABM shuttlers identify areas of weaknesses and make improvements.

“The new training method is not bad, although I cannot say too much due to privacy. But it was an eye-opener and provides a refreshing take on our training.

“The video simulation helped us to correct our mistakes and our unforced errors. So, I hope we could be more consistent after this,” said Aaron.

As a Super 500 event on the BWF World Tour circuit, Malaysia Masters will take place at Axiata Arena, Bukit Jalil from May 23 to 28.

Over 300 elite athletes from around the world are expected to compete for a prize pool of US$420,000 (RM1.9 million).

Norza also noted that the ticket price will remain the same and it will be on sale starting April 20 from 2pm.

Perodua president and chief executive officer Datuk Seri Zainal Abidin Ahmad also attended the press conference held at ABM.

The local automotive brand has had a long-standing partnership with BAM since 2018, which has helped to elevate the sport in the country. – The Vibes, April 17, 2023