WOMEN’S doubles Vivian Hoo and Woon Khe Wei have to sit for three exam papers on Aug 19, the day they leave for Copenhagen, Denmark, for badminton’s World Championships.
The Glasgow Commonwealth Games gold medalists are already struggling to maintain their fitness for the world meet, and having to juggle training with studies is no easy task.
“The pressure is very different because we have to pay attention to our education and we are already short of time for the World Championships.
“Vivian and I will sit for our papers in the morning and then we need to fly off that same night.
“At the moment, the both of us are busy finishing up on some last minute revision,” said Khe Wei, who together with Vivian are sports science students at Universiti Malaya.
Khe Wei, 25, said the pressure, ahead of the World Championships, is a little different following their feat in Glasgow earlier this month.
“I’m sure that expectations are high for us to perform well at the World Championships since we won gold at the Commonwealth Games.
“Vivian and I will definitely play our best but we must also be realistic and know that we do not have an easy draw.
“My personal target is to reach the quarter-finals, but we are already expected to meet the top seeds (China’s Bao Yixin-Tang Jinhua) in the third round. We will push hard and hope for an upset,” added Khe Wei, who will take on Czech Republic’s Sarka Krizkova-Katerina Tomalova in the first round on Aug 25.
The World Championships this year is also the first time that Malaysia will have four women’s doubles pairs, the maximum entry for any country. The other three pairs are Ng Hui Lin-Ng Hui Ern, Amelia Alicia Anscelly-Soong Fie Cho and Lim Yin Loo-Lee Meng Yean.