KUALA LUMPUR, May 15 — The lack of mental resilience is a main reason national men’s doubles pair Man Wei Chong-Tee Kai Wun are struggling this year.
Of the seven tournaments they have participated in this year, they have only reached the quarter-finals once, at the 2024 Swiss Open in Basel, Switzerland, before losing to Indonesian pair Leo Rolly Carnando-Daniel Marthin 14-21, 21-23.
After not being selected for the 2024 Thomas Cup squad in Chengdu, China, Kai Wun said they used the opportunity to strengthen their mental resilience, and aims to perform better at the Malaysia Masters 2024 scheduled for May 21-26.
“Our performance hasn’t been very good, and we’ve experienced many ups and downs this year. Now we are focusing on strengthening our mental fortitude since we often lose focus suddenly.
“Because of this, we have consulted a psychologist (Frederick Tan) to help us address this issue,” he told reporters after a training session here today.
Wei Chong expressed hope they can showcase better performances on home ground after being the runners-up at the Malaysia Masters 2023, where they lost to South Korea’s Kang Min Hyuk-Seo Seung Jae 15-21, 24-22, 19-21.
Although several top pairs in the world are not participating in the Malaysia Masters this time, Wei Chong said he will not underestimate the challenge from other pairs who can prove stiff competition at the Axiata Arena event.
Wei Chong aspires to win high-tier tournaments such as the Super 750 or Super 1000 in their effort to break into the global top 10 by year-end.
The national pair will kick off their Malaysia Masters 2024 campaign against Chiang Chien-Wei-Wu Hsuan Yi from Taiwan.
Wei Chong-Kai Wun have not yet won anything higher than the Super 500 titles, but have claimed three Super 300 titles, winning the 2022 Syed Modi International in India and securing back-to-back titles at the 2022 and 2023 Taiwan Open.
— Bernama
