Malaysian men’s doubles stars Aaron Chia and Soh Wooi Yik focus on physical conditioning to tackle the demanding 2026 BWF World Tour, starting with the Malaysia Open
NATIONAL men’s doubles pair Aaron Chia and Soh Wooi Yik (pic) have made physical fitness their primary focus ahead of the new Badminton World Federation (BWF) World Tour season.
The duo are placing greater emphasis on strengthening their conditioning to meet the sport’s growing physical demands and a congested tournament calendar.
“We also hope to maintain our fitness and physical condition,” Aaron said after a training session at the Badminton Academy of Malaysia.
He stated they strictly follow planned training and recovery programmes to ensure this is not an issue.
Aaron welcomed national doubles coaching director Rexy Mainaky’s suggestion for players to be more selective with tournaments.
He described the move as timely for managing workload and sustaining performance throughout the long season.
The 2022 world champions hope to compete in fewer than 20 tournaments next season to preserve their physical condition.
“Perhaps around 18 to 20 tournaments next year, but we will try to limit it to under 20,” he added.
Aaron also expressed a desire to maintain their world ranking within the top three.
He noted that a high ranking can sometimes be beneficial in terms of votes for year-end awards.
The new BWF World Tour season begins with the Malaysia Open, which starts on Jan 6.
