KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 26 — Fitness has become the top priority for national men’s doubles pair Aaron Chia and Soh Wooi Yik as they gear up for the new Badminton World Federation (BWF) World Tour season, which kicks off with the Malaysia Open on January 6.
Aaron said the duo are placing greater emphasis on strengthening their physical conditioning, taking into account the growing physical demands of the sport, the increasingly congested tournament calendar, and the need to maintain peak performance as they progress in their careers.
“We also hope to maintain our fitness and physical condition. We strictly follow the training programmes that have been planned, including the recovery sessions, so that is not an issue,” he said when met after a training session at the Badminton Academy Malaysia (ABM) here today.
Meanwhile, Aaron welcomed the suggestion by national doubles coaching director Rexy Mainaky for national players to be more selective in choosing tournaments to compete in, describing the move as timely and beneficial in managing workload and sustaining performance throughout the season.
He further expressed hope that their tournament schedule next season would be kept below 20 events to help ensure they remain in optimal physical condition throughout the campaign.
“Perhaps around 18 to 20 tournaments next year, but we will try to limit it to under 20.
“I also hope we can maintain our ranking in the top three because it sometimes helps in terms of votes,” he said. — Bernama
