We need to be braver, says Wooi Yik

KUALA LUMPUR, July 17 — Five times stranded in the semi-finals and once in the final.

That’s the best showing of national number one badminton men’s doubles pair Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik out of the eight tournaments they participated in this year.

Their achievement of being the runners-up of the 2022 Asian Badminton Championships in Manila, Philippines, last May may have been a bitter to swallow, more so after not having won any title since being paired together in 2017.

As such, Wooi Yik said he and his partner need to be more courageous in order to overcome their opponents in the later stages.

“Usually, from the first round until the quarter-final is not a problem for us, but when in the semi-finals, especially against top pairs, we have to be more confident.

“I think it’s not that we’re afraid to face them (top pairs) but it’s more about our self-confidence and we need to heed the advice of Badminton Association of Malaysia’s Doubles Coaching director Rexy Mainaky who wants us to be braver,” he said when met recently.

He explained that although Rexy often advised the bronze winners of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games to be more ‘fierce’ in the semi-finals, Wooi Yik admitted that it was not easy to do but was determined to continue to improve on the weakness.

Meanwhile, Wooi Yik said he did not pay any attention to the negative comments thrown by netizens on social media, especially when they lose in competitions.

“I don’t pay much attention (to netizens’ comments), may see (comments) but it doesn’t rattle me ,” he said.