KUALA LUMPUR: National men’s doubles shuttler Aaron Chia (pix) is mentally and physically prepared to put on his best performance at the Masters Malaysia Badminton Championship 2023, which will begin tomorrow at Axiata Arena, Bukit Jalil.
Current world number two Aaron and partner Soh Wooi Yik are unlikely to make their packed schedule an excuse for a lacklustre showing, especially since they just arrived in Malaysia this morning after competing in the Sudirman Cup in Suzhou, China on Saturday (May 20).
“I feel as a player you should always be ready for good and bad situations. We can’t give the excuse of travel, or tiredness and when we’re on court, we must do our best.
“Like I said, in men’s doubles, it doesn’t really matter if it’s Indonesia, Denmark or China, so we just need to be ready to start from the first round that it’s a tough match all the way to the final,” he told reporters after a court-testing session here today.
The 2022 world champion will meet Indonesians Yeremia Erich Yoche Yacob Rambitan-Pramudya Kusumawardana in the first round tomorrow.
Meanwhile, national women’s doubles shuttler Pearly Tan refused to dwell on her first-round exit in January’s Malaysian Open, but wanted to enjoy playing with home advantage.
“The past is the past so we don’t think about that, we just hope to come back stronger,” she said.
Sixth seeds Pearly Tan-M. Thinaah will take on Bulgarian sisters Gabriela Stoeva-Stefani Stoeva in their first-round match tomorrow. -Bernama
