Men’s doubles Goh V Shem-Tan Wee Kiong believe Malaysia can still have a maximum representation of two pairs at this year’s Tokyo Olympics.
The 2016 Rio Olympic Games silver medallists are currently playing catch up with national No 1 Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik, who are two rungs above the independent pair on the Race to Tokyo list at No 10.
With just over three months to go before the end of the one-year qualifying period, V Shem-Wee Kiong have not given up hope of making the cut.
“We have only played in two tournaments so far this year. In terms of ranking, Aaron-Wooi Yik are in a much better place,” Wee Kiong told Timesport yesterday.
“However, nothing is over yet. We still have a few more tournaments to play in and I don’t see why we should count ourselves out of the race.”
V Shem-Wee Kiong, who won two titles (Thailand Masters and Taiwan Open) from three finals last year, did not get their 2020 season off to the best of starts.
They failed to clear the opening round of the Malaysia Masters by losing to Aaron-Wooi Yik and were sent packing in the second round of the Indonesia Masters last week.
But unlike Aaron-Wooi Yik who are under the BA of Malaysia (BAM), V Shem-Wee Kiong will have to plan their tournaments wisely.
“Now that we are no longer under BAM, things are a little different. We don’t have a chief coach to report too.
“We can’t just enter every single tournament. More discussions are involved in terms of planning.
“We need to stay focused and be clear on our targets. If we want to be safe, we need to start winning titles,” added Wee Kiong.
Both V Shem-Wee Kiong and Aaron-Wooi Yik are currently in Bangkok for the Thailand Masters that starts today.
V Shem-Wee Kiong will begin their title defence against Germany’s Jones Ralfy Jansen-Peter Kaesbauer in the first round tomorrow, while Aaron-Wooi Yik face China’s Huang Kai Xiang-Liu Cheng.
Other Malaysians in the fray are Goh Sze Fei-Nur Izzuddin Rumsani, Ong Yew Sin-Teo Ee Yi and Nur Azriyn Ayub-Low Juan Shen.