KUALA LUMPUR – Aaron Chia is resolute in his belief the players in the Malaysian camp will give their best in the imminent Asian Games, with the ultimate aim of accumulating Olympic qualification points.
The men’s doubles shuttler, supported by his rigorous training regimen, is confident that the national shuttlers’ commitment will yield results on the grand stage in Hangzhou.
“It’s essential for all of us to give our best in this tournament.
“We have all been training very hard and are prepared to go all out in our respective categories because it also impacts our qualification points for the 2024 Paris Olympics.
“This tournament only occurs once every four years, so we are determined to outperform our previous performance in Jakarta by securing a medal in this year’s edition,” Aaron said.
The former world champion, who will also compete in the men’s team event, further said that the national contingent should put fatigue aside and approach their games step by step.
“I understand that we are all tired due to our back-to-back tournaments, but we shouldn’t use it as an excuse, and we should remain fully focused on our matches.
“While we strive to earn as many Olympic points as we can, we should also showcase our prowess on the court by approaching each game step by step.
“For now, we have been closely working on endurance training, and this training is necessary for us as we will have tournaments continuously for five weeks right after the Asian Games,” Aaron added.
Meanwhile, national singles player Lee Zii Jia said that he has been sparingly training with Thailand’s Kantaphon Wangcharoen to enhance his game ahead of the Asian Games.
“I’m pleased to have Kantaphon training with me and assisting in my development before the Asian Games.
“We both benefit mutually from training together, and I will do my best in the men’s team event,” Zii Jia said.
The men’s team will take to the courts on September 28, though the men’s singles competition is scheduled to commence on October 2.
Datuk (Punch) Gunalan remains the only Malaysian to have won the gold medal in the men’s singles category, earning that accolade at the 1970 Bangkok Asian Games. – September 22, 2023