KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 24 — Akademi Badminton Malaysia (ABM) coaching director Rexy Mainaky believes that Malaysia’s chances of making history by winning titles at the 2024 BWF World Tour Finals next month are growing.
This can be attributed to the increasing number of Malaysian shuttlers, both players from the Badminton Association of Malaysia and professional players, who have successfully secured spots for the tournament scheduled to take place in Hangzhou, China, from December 11 to December 15.
"When we talk about Malaysia, with so many representatives at the BWF World Tour Finals, it opens up more opportunities for us to win at least one title.
"We should not be too greedy, but I am happy with the current situation,” he said during an interview recently.
The Malaysian players who will represent the country at the tournament include men’s doubles pairs Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik and Goh Sze Fei-Nur Izzuddin Rumsani; women’s doubles pair Pearly Tan-M. Thinaah; mixed doubles pairs Cheng Tang Jie-Toh Ee Wei and Goh Soon Huat-Shevon Lai; as well as men’s singles player Lee Zii Jia.
To date, no Malaysian player has ever won a title at the BWF World Tour Finals, nor have any reached the final since it was introduced in 2018, with the best achievement being a semi-final appearance.
Meanwhile, Rexy hopes that Chia and Soh, who secured a last-minute spot at the tournament, will make the most of the opportunity.
He also believes the 2020 Tokyo Olympics bronze medallists need to further improve their performance ahead of the event in Hangzhou.
Chia and Soh's bid to qualify for the tournament took a blow when they were eliminated in the quarter-finals of the China Masters after losing to the home team’s He Ji Ting-Ren Xiang Yu on Friday (November 22).
However, the next day, BWF confirmed that Chia and Soh, alongside Indonesia's Sabar Karyaman Gutama-Moh Reza Pahlevi Isfahani, secured the final two spots among the top eight pairs.
— Bernama
