Last roll of the dice
Aaron-Wooi Yik go to Swiss Open with one shot to redeem themselves
PETALING JAYA: National No. 1 Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik aim to make good their one shot for glory in Europe.
The duo are only taking part in the Swiss Open in Basel from March 2-7. They have skipped the All-England in Birmingham from March 17-21 while German Open from March 9-14 has been cancelled.
In the Swiss Open, world No. 9 Aaron-Wooi Yik are the top seeds following the withdrawals of China, South Korea, Japan and most of the top players from Indonesia.
Aaron and Wooi Yik have been given extra training to get it right in Swiss Open.
There were expectations on the duo to win one of three titles in Thailand last month but they went through a rollercoaster ride in Bangkok.
They lost in first round of the first Open and bounced back to reach the final in the second. In the World Tour Finals, the 2019 AllEngland runners-up failed to clear the group stage.
Wooi Yik, who was given a short break for the Chinese New Year by head coach Flandi Limpele, said the goal was to reach the final.
“Our coach has also given us extra training to beef up our preparation for the Swiss Open. We have been fixing our weaknesses,” he said.
“The Swiss Open is a perfect chance for us to gain valuable Olympics ranking points.
“The Thailand trip has exposed some of our shortcomings but we are determined to showcase our best form in Basel.”
“The Open in Switzerland is also our only tournament in Europe as we have chosen to skip the AllEngland.
“The Covid-19 cases in England are high, besides, the All-England does not offer Olympics points, so we have decided it was best to not take any risks by going there.”
In the Swiss Open, the path is clear for Aaron-Wooi Yik to reach the final from the top half. The seeded players lumped together with them are their seniors Goh V Shem-Tan Wee Kiong (3rd), Vladimir Ivanov-Ivan Sozonov of Russia (7th) and Ben Lane-Sean Vendy (8th).
In the bottom half are second seeds Satwiksairaj Rankireddy-Chirag Shetty of India, Marcus Ellis-Chirs Langridge of England (4th), Ong Yew Sin-Teo Ee Yi (5th) and Kim Astrup-Anders Skaarup Rasmussen of Denmark (6th).
“We will not take anyone for granted. This is only chance we have in Europe, and it’s important to us to do well,” added Wooi Yik.