KUALA LUMPUR: The men's doubles event at the Olympics can be considered a "lucky charm" for Malaysia.
Razik-Jalani Sidek were the first Malaysians to win a medal in the event, taking bronze at Barcelona 1992 — the first time badminton was contested at the Olympics.
Following that, Malaysia won silver medals through Cheah Soon Kit-Yap Kim Hock at Atlanta 1996 and Goh V Shem-Tan Wee Kiong at Rio 2016.
In Tokyo 2020, Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik finished on the podium with a bronze.
The question is whether former world champions Aaron-Wooi Yik can turn bronze into gold at the Paris Olympics, which begin on July 26.
Badminton offers Malaysia the best hope of winning their first Olympic title, with men's singles player Lee Zii Jia being another prospect.
Aaron-Wooi Yik, who hold the distinction of being Malaysia's first badminton world champions, are not worried about the high expectations placed on their shoulders.
"Of course, we have to be confident with our targets. We don't always say it, but in our hearts, we do want gold. So, we have to work hard to achieve it and not put too much pressure on ourselves.
"We have to understand that all men's pairs have good chances, so we just want to do our best for this Olympics.
"We don't want to carry a big burden, just enjoy the Olympics," Wooi Yik said.
Aaron agreed, saying the men's doubles competition is very open and believes their extra night training sessions can give them the edge.
He said they are wary of the challenge posed by several top pairs in the world.
Their main challengers include world No. 1 and Hangzhou Asian Games champions Liang Wei Keng-Wang Chang of China, who have beaten Aaron-Wooi Yik in six of their eight meetings.
The Chinese pair also won two Super 1000 tour titles this year — the Malaysia Open and Indonesia Open.
World No. 5 Aaron-Wooi Yik must also find an answer to the aggressive play and powerful smashes of India's Satwiksairaj Rankireddy-Chirag Shetty. Although the head-to-head record stands at 8-3 in favour of the Malaysian pair, Aaron-Wooi Yik lost in their last three meetings against the Indians, including at the Asian Games semi-finals in September, last year.
Another pair that can shatter Aaron-Wooi Yik's dream is world No. 4 Kang Min Hyuk-Seo Seung Jae of South Korea, the reigning world champions.
Aaron-Wooi Yik have beaten the Koreans only once in four meetings.
Profile:
Aaron Chia
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Age: 27
Hometown: Batu Berendam, Melaka
Started playing badminton at four years old
Height: 168cm
Soh Wooi Yik
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Age: 26
Hometown: Kuala Lumpur
Started playing badminton at four years old
Height: 185cm
As a pair
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Current ranking: World No. 5
Highest ranking: World No. 2 (Nov 2023)
Olympics appearance: Second
Achievements:
1) 2020 Tokyo Olympics bronze,
2) 2022 Tokyo World Championships gold,
3) 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games bronze,
4) 2022 Birmingham Commonwealth Games bronze
5) 2023 World Championships bronze in Copenhagen
6) 2023 Denmark Open champions – BERNAMA