Bangkok: After 10 months of preparation, Malaysia’s Aaron Chia/Soh Wooi Yik believed they have what it takes to produce good results at the YONEX Thailand Open that starts on Tuesday.
Chia/Soh will start their campaign against countrymen Goh V Shem/Tan Wee Kiong around 4 pm Bangkok time on Tuesday.
“The time has come for us to convert everything we learn during the training session on the badminton court. It has been 10 months since we last competed, we believe we are fully prepared to return to action on the court,” said Chia.
In men’s doubles, Indonesia’s World No. 2 pair Mohamad Ahsan/Hendra Setiawan is one of the main contenders for the title.
“For now, we are going to focus on one game at a time. In the first round, we had to face our friends and it’s not going to be an easy task,” added Chia.
In men’s singles, there was some confusion about returning flight for Daren Liew and other Malaysian independent players.
Liew said he was notified by Malaysia Airlines (MAS) that his flight to Kuala Lumpur on Jan 22 has been canceled amid the COVID-19 lockdown back home.
“MAS sent me an email telling me my flight was canceled, and the next available flight home will be on March 1,” said Liew.
“Other Malaysian independent players reserved AirAsia earlier but got cancelled also as AirAsia only start the Bangkok route on Feb 1,” explained Liew.
“That would force all independent shuttlers to spend extra money to either stay longer in Bangkok or to try different ways of going home,” added Liew.
Liew will open against the No. 3 seed of Denmark, Anders Antonsen on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, Malaysia’s young mixed doubles pair, Hoo Pang Ron/Cheah Yee See is facing a tough first-round match against World No. 3 Dechapol Puavaranukroh/Sapsiree Taerattanachai on Tuesday.
“We are going to the match with no pressure, as we are the underdogs. It’ll be a good learning opportunity for us no matter win or lose,” said Hoo.
