KUALA LUMPUR – National men’s doubles pair Man Wei Chong-Tee Kai Wun could qualify for the Paris Olympics if they maintain their performance levels from the just-concluded Malaysia Masters, according to the national men’s doubles coach.
Coach Tan Bin Shen said the 26th-ranked duo’s performance at the Super 500 tournament was a good start before moving on to higher-level ones, such as Super 1000 events, to qualify for next year’s Olympics.
“Wei Chong-Kai Wun stand a chance to qualify for the Olympics, good start for them. I hope next they will stay consistent and learn from it, then perform.
“But if there are other players, including junior shuttlers, who are able to compete in Super 1000 tournaments, they also have a chance,” he told reporters when met after last night’s Malaysia Masters finals at the Axiata Arena here.
The Badminton World Federation had previously announced that the qualifying period for the 2024 Olympics is from May 1, 2023 to April 28, 2024 and the quota for badminton events remains at 172 places involving 86 men and 86 women.
For the doubles events, each country gets two places if both pairs are ranked in the top eight on the qualification deadline, and there must be at least one pair from each of the five continental confederations, provided they are ranked in the top 50.
Earlier, Wei Chong-Kai Wun had made it to the finals of the Malaysian Masters for the first time after defeating Indonesian pair Leo Rolly Carnando-Daniel Marthin 21-17, 22-20 in the semi-finals, but lost in the final to the South Korean duo of Kang Min-hyuk-Seo Seung-jae 15 -21, 24-22, 19-21.
Meanwhile, commenting on the performance of the country’s top men’s doubles pair and reigning world champions Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik at the Malaysia Masters, Bin Shen said they lost due to lack of fitness and defensive finesse.
“In terms of their fitness and strength, they have to improve, their game plan has to change. For me, their performance is still okay, because the first round was tough, their performance is still on track.
“I hope Aaron-Wooi Yik will qualify (for the Olympics). I think they can handle this, I’m still confident (that they will go to the Olympics),” he said.
Aaron-Wooi Yik lost to Carnando-Marthin of Indonesia 18-21, 19-21 in the quarter-finals on Friday. – Bernama, May 29, 2023
