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National shuttlers make their final Olympic preparations in the north of France | Scoop
National shuttler duos(from left to right): Pearly Tan and M. Thinaah; Soh Wooi Yik and Aaron Chia; Toh Ee Wei and Chen Tang Jie. Currently training in Aire-sur-la-Lys, they will leave for Paris on Monday. – BAM pic, July 19, 2024
Sports

National shuttlers make their final Olympic preparations in the north of France

Hosting a simulation at a local badminton club, players have a last bit of fun before the focus sets in

Main Author Image
Fabian Peter
Updated
9:00 PM MYT

 

KUALA LUMPUR – Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) coaching director Rexy Mainaky praised the tiny town of Aire-sur-la-Lys, calling it the perfect base for the national shuttlers gearing up for the Paris Olympics later this month.

Located in the north of France, the quaint town of about 10,000 residents has been home to Malaysian shuttlers since they arrived on Sunday.

Led by former men’s doubles world champions Aaron Chia and Soh Wooi Yik, the Malaysian badminton team will leave for Paris on July 22 (Monday).

On Thursday, after having trained in isolation for several days, players, coaches and support staff welcomed about 800 people from the local community to witness an open simulation at the Le Volant Airois badminton club.

Also present was Malaysian ambassador to France, Datuk Eldeen Husaini Hashim, Malaysian students studying in Lille, and France’s top mixed doubles pair, Thom Gicquel-Delphine Delrue, who made a surprise visit.

When contacted by Scoop, Rexy said: “It’s perfect. I never expected this place to be so quiet and peaceful. This is just the kind of place we need to prepare and avoid distractions.

“There is a time for fun, but the players are all fully committed when it’s time to focus.

“I can confidently say that the players are all ready and looking forward to the Olympics challenge.”

On the open simulation, Rexy added: “We should use it to our advantage. I believe the people who came don’t know much about badminton, but the atmosphere they provided was superb for the players.

“I dare say that Aaron-Wooi Yik are about 90-95% ready for the Olympics, Chen Tang Jie-Toh Ee Wei are also in great shape, while there are still a few things, which I will not mention here, that we are trying to implement for Pearly-Thinaah.

“Having said that, all our players are in good condition and are really looking forward to the Olympics.”

Two other independent shuttlers who are not part of the 10-day centralised training camp, men’s singles world number 7 Lee Zii Jia and women’s singles’ Goh Jin Wei, will leave for France on Sunday (July 21) and Tuesday (July 23), respectively.

Since badminton became a medal sport at the Olympics in 1992, Malaysian shuttlers have won a total of nine medals – six silvers and three bronze.

At the Tokyo Olympics three years ago, Aaron-Wooi Yik settled for the bronze after seeing off Indonesia’s Mohammad Ahsan-Hendra Setiawan in the playoff match. – July 19, 2024

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