Hangzhou Asiad review crucial for Paris Olympics improvement - Rexy

HANGZHOU - The national badminton camp will conduct a detailed analysis of the players' performance at the Hangzhou Asian Games following their failure to meet the target of two silvers and one bronze.

The squad ended the campaign with just one bronze through the men's doubles pair of Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik yesterday, having returned home empty-handed from the 2018 edition in Jakarta-Palembang, Indonesia.

Akademi Badminton Malaysia (ABM) coaching director Rexy Mainaky said they would analyse the players' performance and review all the programmes conducted in preparation for the 2024 Paris Olympics.

"We will continue with what worked effectively, but let go of those that made us stagnant to ensure our progress towards the Olympics. The Asian Games is like a mini-Olympics, so we must avoid repeating mistakes.

"To achieve success at the Olympics, we must implement changes not only in coaching and management but also ensure that players understand these changes and execute them with utmost commitment. The Olympics is just (approximately) eight months away, so everyone needs to be fully dedicated," he told reporters here.

Commenting on the players' performance, he said although Aaron-Wooi Yik performed well throughout the tournament, they appeared to struggle with confidence and strength in the semi-finals.

Aaron-Wooi Yik, the 2022 world champions, had to settle for bronze after losing 17-21, 12-21 to India's Satwiksairaj Rankireddy-Shirag Chetty yesterday.

"I have reviewed the match; the Indian pair changed their strategy because they knew they would lose if they played at the front. So, they put pressure on Aaron and Wooi Yik from the beginning with their serves to destroy our pair's confidence.

"Wooi Yik hesitated too many times in terms of defending, attacking and covering the front. We must review the footage and analyse these aspects because they could recur at the Olympics, especially when if they face the Indian shuttlers again," said Rexy, who won the men's team badminton gold with Indonesia at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics.

As for the women's doubles pair of Pearly Tan-M. Thinaah, who lost 21-15, 11-21, 7-21 to world number two Baek Ha Na-Lee So Hee of South Korea in the quarter-finals, Rexy said they performed admirably and showed their ability to engage in long rallies.

However, to compete against the top doubles pairs from China, South Korea and Japan, he said Pearly-Thinaah would need to be more resilient and energetic as they seemed more fatigued compared to the South Korean pair in the quarter-finals.

Rexy said that although Ng Tze Yong (men's singles) and Chen Tang Jie-Toh Ee Wei (mixed doubles) also performed well and showed improvement to advance to the quarter-finals, they still need to improve certain aspects of their game.

"Tze Yong needs to boost his self-confidence and build his strength. There are certain points that I will discuss with his coach Hendrawan. Tang Jie-Ee Wei, meanwhile, looked to be unprepared to face defending champions Zheng Siwei-Huang Yaqiong of China. They made mistakes after taking the lead," he added. - BERNAMA