Coach: Wei Chong-Kai Wun should focus on securing slot in Thomas Cup squad
KUALA LUMPUR: National men’s doubles, Man Wei ChongTee Kai Wun need to focus on the mission of earning a place in the 2024 Thomas Cup squad aer being excluded from the Badminton Asia Team Championship (BATC) 2024 in Shah Alam, recently.
National men’s doubles coach Tan Bin Shen said Wei Chong-Kai Wun could potentially be sent as the second national pair in the 2024 Thomas Cup in Chengdu, China from April 28 to May 5 if they can prove their prowess in the tournaments they are participating.
“They are improving during training, I do hope they can overcome the pressure and lack of confidence on the court to prove their (ability) in the tournament as we need strong second pair in Thomas Cup.
“Aer several discussions with them, I see that Wei Chong-Kai Wun understand that they need a breakthrough, otherwise they (performance) will stagnate,” he told reporters aer the training session here yesterday.
Wei Chong-Kai Wun had a lackluster performance at the start of this season aer being eliminated early in all three tournaments including a loss in the second round of the Indonesian Masters 2024 to the host representatives, Fajar Alfian-Muhammad Rian Ardianto, 18-21, 20-22, last month.
The 2022 world champions Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik are expected to maintain their place as the country’s top doubles, while Wei Chong-Kai Wun, ranked 18th in the world, will compete with the professional pair, Ong Yew Sin-Teo Ee Yi (ranked 12th) ; Goh Sze Fei-Nur Izzuddin Rumsani (ranked 19) and Choong Hon Jian-Muhammad Haikal Nazri (ranked 39) for a place in the 2024 Thomas Cup squad.
Wei Chong-Kai Wun will square off with Canadian pair Kevin Lee-Ty Alexander Lindemann in the first round of the 2024 French Open while Japanese opponents Akira Koga-Taichi Saito await them in the opening round of the All England 2024.
In other developments, Bin Shen said that although he has not set any specific targets for Aaron-Wooi Yik at the 2024 French Open and 2024 All England Open, his team is working to help the country’s number one pair reach their peak performance at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris from July 26 to Aug 11.
Aaron-Wooi Yik will open the 2024 French Open campaign against Germany’s Mark Lamsfuss-Marvin Seidel and will square off with Sze Fei-Nur Izzuddin in the first round of the 2024 All England.
The French Open 2024 in Paris will be from March 5-10 while the All England 2024 tournament in Birmingham will be from March 12-17.