Time to peak

PETALING JAYA: Focus and patience are the two areas Aaron Chia has repeatedly stressed on to his partner Soh Wooi Yik as they defend their world men’s doubles title in Copenhagen next week.

Aaron-Wooi Yik (pic), the world No. 4, became Malaysia’s first world champions in badminton in Tokyo last year but they have not won a title since then.

However, Aaron does not want to concede their search for another title. He will continue the fight whether it happens in Copenhagen or elsewhere.

“I’ve been reminding us to always stay focused. Always stay patient on what we are doing right now. Don’t think about all those pressures, on court or off court, just focus on what we have to do,” Aaron told Badminton World Federation (BWF).

“Everyone is improving and I believe that we are also one of the pairs that have improved. So, maybe we can grab another one for Malaysia. It’s not easy for us but we will give our best.”

Wooi Yik is taking a pragmatic approach and said that despite their barren run for the last 12 months, they have remained positive in search of their first BWF world tour title.

He was also quick to point out that they had not won a title until their breakthrough success in Tokyo last year.

“We are looking at the positive side, because before we became world champions, we didn’t have a title either,” said Wooi Yik.

“So, Aaron and I believe that we can still keep going even though we don’t have a title.

“After the World Championships (last year), we were more motivated to get another title, even though we struggled. We have been in a few finals. We are still looking for the next title.”

Aaron-Wooi Yik, who have a first-round bye, are expected to face Denmark’s Jeppe Bay-Lasse Molhede and could take on Olympic champions Lee Yang-Wang Chi-lin of Taiwan in the third round.

If they survive, Aaron-Wooi Yik could face another difficult task against China bogeymen Liu Yuchen-Ou Xuanyi in the last eight.