PETALING JAYA: Will our Malaysian shuttlers end a six-year wait for a place in the Malaysian Open final?
The answer will only become clear when the national shuttlers take to the courts as the season opening Badminton World Federation (BWF) tournament gets under way next Tuesday.
Based on the current situation in the national camp, the men’s doubles pairs once again carry the biggest hopes of ending the drought, led by the three main combinations of Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik (second seeds), Man Wei Chong-Tee Kai Wun (fifth seeds) and professional pair Goh Sze Fei-Nur Izzuddin Rumsani (seventh seeds).
However, success is far from guaranteed, with a tough and highly competitive draw awaiting them in this year’s edition.
Adding to the pressure is the lingering memory of last year’s early exits, which continue to haunt the camp.
It was a disappointing outcome, especially given their status as the country’s brightest prospects and the fact that Malaysia fielded six pairs in contention.
Yet only Wei Chong-Kai Wun managed to reach the semi-finals before falling to China’s Chen Boyang-Liu Yi.
For this year’s edition, Malaysia have entered eight men’s doubles pairs, including professional shuttler Goh V Shem, who is partnering South Korea’s Choi Sol-gyu.
For men’s doubles head coach Herry Iman Pierngadi, he reiterated that the competition in the event is extremely tight, and players who step onto the court in their best condition have the greatest chance of winning.
His main concern, however, remains the strength of the world No. 1 pair, Kim Won-ho-Seo Seung-jae, who are very difficult to beat. They dominated international tournaments last year, including winning the Malaysian Open.
“The quality of men’s doubles pairs around the world is almost the same. The pair that is better and in better condition will win, so in my view, we need to plan which tournaments we aim to win.
“We cannot win every tournament. Except for the South Korean men’s doubles pair (Won-ho-Seung-jae), their standard is far above all other pairs, and this is something we need to learn from,” said Herry.
Of Malaysia’s nine entries this year, four will face each other in the first round.
Ong Yew Sin-Teo Ee Yi will take on veteran pair Tan Wee Kiong-Nur Azriyn Ayub, while Wan Arif Wan Junaidi-Yap Roy King will clash with V Shem-Sol-gyu.
Choong Hon Jian-Mohd Haikal Nazri will go up against the English pair Ben Lane-Sean Vendy, who have often caused problems for Malaysian doubles, and Sze Fei-Izzuddin will meet Denmark’s Daniel Lundgaard-Mads Vestergaard.
Wei Chong-Kai Wun will face Kim Astrup-Anders Skaarup Rasmussen, while Aaron-Wooi Yik will take on the American duo Chen Zhi Yi-Presley Smith.
Beyond the men’s doubles, world No. 2 women’s doubles pair Pearly Tan-M. Thinaah, as well as the reigning world champions in mixed doubles, Chen Tang Jie-Toh Ee Wei are also in contention to help end Malaysia’s six-year wait for a podium finish at the Malaysian Open.
Since Datuk Seri Lee Chong Wei captured the Malaysian Open title in 2018, which was also his 12th and final crown at the tournament, no Malaysian has returned to the final.
The Malaysian Open was cancelled in 2020 and 2021 due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
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