KUALA LUMPUR: Despite prioritising preparations for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, national mixed doubles player Chen Tang Jie (pix) refuses to take lightly the challenge of Badminton Asia Championships (BAC) which will open next Tuesday (April 9) in Ningbo, China.
The 2023 Taiwan Open champion and his teammate, Toh Ee Wei have unofficially confirmed their ticket to Paris by being ranked eighth out of the world’s best eight in the qualification ranking that will close on April 28.
“Even though the priority is the Olympic Games, we must be prepared to give our best performance in tournaments such as BAC as it is a platform to keep our momentum.
“If you can win a title why not?.... The preparations are as usual (and) just came back from Switzerland so it’s not possible that the training could be (much) different. The most important thing is how we perform at the tournament,“ he told reporters when met at the Academy Badminton Malaysia, yesterday.
Asked if they were ready to go toe-to-toe with world number one Zheng Si Wei-Huang Ya Qiong of China in the first round of the BAC, Tang Jie said they would give everything to pull off a surprise in the match after losing three times in their previous meetings.
However, the 26-year-old athlete admitted to being in the best of health, free from injury as well as getting psychological services from specialist Frederick Tan provided by Badminton Association of Malaysia and it is very important to get through this season.
“I had just recovered from a fever and have to take care of whatever I eat. Hopefully we can see the difference in these three months.
“He (Frederick) is going to BAC as the first tournament. I am excited to work with him,“ he said.
The BAC Championships will take place in Ningbo, China from April 9 to 14 while the Paris 2024 Olympic Games will take place from July 26 to August 11. -Bernama
