SEPANG, Aug 25: National men’s doubles player Soh Wooi Yik is ready to discuss his future with the Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) to work out his career plans leading up to the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Games.
Wooi Yik said he would study the plans the governing body has for him before making any decision about his status in the national squad.
“I don’t know (whether I will leave or stay with BAM). We’ll just see what the plan is with BAM and us first.
“Of course, Aaron Chia and I hope to remain together, but if the plan is not agreed upon, then we will discuss further what to do,” he told reporters at Kuala Lumpur International Airport upon his return from New Delhi today.
According to 28-year-old Wooi Yik, his age and increasingly mature career mean he needs to carefully consider their future as the country’s leading pair over the next two years.
“For me, my personal career is not that long anymore. So, I need to think carefully before making any decision if there are any changes. I need to discuss with the coaches what our future will be,” he said.
Last Sunday, the world No. 4 pair had to settle for the runners-up spot after losing 17-21, 16-21 to Chinese pair Liang Wei Keng-Wang Chang in the World Championships final in New Delhi.
Asked about his exclusion from the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games (Sept 19-Oct 4), Wooi Yik admitted that he only found out about it at the last minute but accepted the decision with an open mind.
“There have been a lot of changes over the past few months, which is why I said I will decide about the future. We’ll see and discuss it with the coach later,” he said.
Meanwhile, Aaron stressed that his mission remains focused on completing his collection of Olympic medals with a gold, but he is prepared to follow the coaching team’s strategy for now.
“If the coach’s final plan is to keep all the original pairs to fight for LA, I don’t think there’s a problem with that. For the two of us, we still have a target at the Olympics. We definitely hope to win a gold medal in our careers,” he said.
Aaron said that they would once again be paired with different players for the China Masters in Shenzhen from Sept 1 to 6 and the upcoming European tour.
“But we will continue our discussions with the coaches and see what the next direction will be.
“I think the original pairing may have an advantage because we have been together for a long time, but perhaps the coaches want to see how each player performs when paired with someone else,” he said.
Aaron-Wooi Yik became Malaysia’s first world champions in 2022 and have won successive Olympic bronze medals at the Tokyo 2020 and Paris 2024 Games.
— BERNAMA