Olympics: Consistency key to national shuttlers' success in Paris

KUALA LUMPUR - The 1992 Barcelona Olympics etched a historic moment for Malaysian sports when men's doubles pair Datuk Razif Sidek-Datuk Seri Jalani Sidek became the first representatives of the country to win an Olympic medal.

The inspiring achievement of the siblings has undoubtedly spurred other players to aim for podium finishes for the country, as badminton has consistently brought home medals for Malaysia at the Olympics, except for the 2000 Sydney and 2004 Athens editions.

However, the much-anticipated gold medal has yet to be realised, with the national badminton team contributing a total of nine medals so far, comprising six silver and three bronze.

To continue the legacy of badminton excellence and the quest for the nation's first gold at the Olympics, Malaysia will field eight players in the Paris 2024 edition, including Tokyo 2020 men's doubles bronze medallists, Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik, and professional men's singles player, Lee Zii Jia.

The reputation of Aaron-Wooi Yik, who made history as the country's badminton representatives by winning the world championship in Tokyo in 2022, coupled with their experience of winning bronze at the last edition, could be relied upon by the national badminton squad to bring home gold from Paris 2024.

However, the performance of the 2023 Denmark Open champions has been somewhat inconsistent leading up to the Olympics, finishing as runners-up only once at the 2024 All England and exiting in the second round of the 2024 Indonesia Open last month, losing to Taiwan's Lu Ching Yao-Yang Po Han 16-21, 14-21, which was also their final tournament before heading to Paris 2024.

On paper, Aaron-Wooi Yik have a promising chance of advancing past the group stage at the 2024 Olympics, having been drawn in Group A alongside China's top seeds Liang Wei Keng-Wang Chang, England's Ben Lane-Sean Vendy, and Canada's Adam Dong-Nyl Yakura.

The Chinese pair are expected to be the toughest challenge for the Malaysian duo based on their head-to-head record favouring Wei Keng-Wang Chang, while the path should be easier if Aaron-Wooi Yik can overcome Lane-Vendy and Adam-Yakura.

Attention is also focused on Zii Jia, especially to gauge his ability to win a medal at the Olympics after clinching two titles, the Thailand Open 2024 in May followed by the Australia Open 2024 last month.

These successes should boost Zii Jia's spirit to redeem himself after being eliminated in the round of 16 by China's Chen Long in his debut at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and to continue his excellence on the court after often being overshadowed by inconsistent performances since winning the All England in 2021.

For this time, Zii Jia is expected to have no problems topping Group G, being grouped with the world's 72nd-ranked player from Sri Lanka, Viren Nettansinghe, and the world's 63rd-ranked player from Spain, Pablo Abian.

However, the seventh-ranked player will face his true test in the knockout rounds, starting with a match against Indonesia's Anthony Sinisuka Ginting in the round of 16.

He will then face the world number four, Anders Antonsen from Denmark, in the quarter-finals, followed by China's top seed Shi Yu Qi in the semi-finals and the defending champion Viktor Axelsen from Denmark in the final.

Based on past encounters, Zii Jia, who sometimes struggles against the top players, particularly Yu Qi and Axelsen, must improve his performance and manage pressure wisely if he hopes to pull off a surprise and win gold at the Porte de la Chapelle Arena.

Meanwhile, three other national badminton representatives, mixed doubles pair Chen Tang Jie-Toh Ee Wei, women's doubles pair Pearly Tan-M. Thinaah, and professional women's singles player Goh Jin Wei, will be making their Olympics debut.

Since pairing up in November 2022, Tang Jie-Ee Wei have quickly proven their potential by winning their first title at the 2023 Orleans Masters and the 2023 Taiwan Open, although they have yet to taste the highest success this year, finishing as runners-up at the Thailand Masters and the Swiss Open.

Despite having much room for improvement, Tang Jie-Ee Wei are fortunate to be coached by former Indonesian player Nova Widianto, who won silver at Beijing 2008 and was a two-time world champion, in 2005 and 2007, with Liliyana Natsir.

Tang Jie-Toh Ee Wei have a good chance of advancing to the next stage, having been drawn in Group D with China's second seeds Feng Yan Zhe-Huang Dong Ping, the American pair Vinson Chiu-Jennie Gai, and Singapore's Terry Hee Yong Kai-Jessica Tan Wei Han.

Paris holds sweet memories for Pearly-Thinaah, who made an upset victory at the 2022 French Open by defeating Japan's fourth seeds at the time, Mayu Matsumoto-Wakana Nagahara, 21-19, 18-21, 21-15.

Although they have not won any titles since, the 2022 Commonwealth Games champions can draw inspiration from their past success and come out stronger at the Olympics despite their recent 'yo-yo' performances.

However, a tough task awaits the world's 13th-ranked pair as they face the top seeds and Tokyo 2020 silver medallists, Chen Qing Chen-Jia Yi Fan from China, the world's sixth-ranked Mayu Matsumoto-Wakana Nagahara from Japan, and the world's ninth-ranked Apriyani Rahayu-Siti Fadia Silva Ramadhanti from Indonesia in Group A.

Despite being plagued by abdominal health issues, Jin Wei needs to show a high fighting spirit to overcome the 'misfortune' she faces and prove that she is not just 'sightseeing' in Paris.

Jin Wei also needs to demonstrate her ability by putting up commendable performances in Group H alongside South Korea's Kim Ga Eun and South Africa's Johanita Scholtz, even without the accompaniment of coach Nova Armada in Paris due to limited accreditation cards for the national contingent.

According to the competition format, only the group winners in the singles event and the top two pairs in each group for doubles will advance to the knockout stages.

With the badminton competition set to kick off this Saturday until Aug 5, the national badminton players must certainly strategise their plans and, more importantly, maintain consistency in their quest to bring home glorious success from Paris.

The 2024 Olympics will be officially opened tomorrow and run until August 11. - BERNAMA