KUALA LUMPUR: Men's doubles Soh Wooi Yik acknowledged that their struggles against top-ranked opponents could jeopardise their quest for gold at the Paris Olympics in July.
Aaron Chia-Wooi Yik's hopes of clinching their first title this year at the French Open were dashed on Friday, falling in the quarter-finals to world No. 2 Kang Min Hyuk-Seo Seung Jae.
The world No. 5 Malaysians suffered a 21-19, 21-16 defeat, marking their second consecutive loss to the reigning world champions and their third overall in four encounters.
Aaron-Wooi Yik's difficulties against the world's top three pairs are becoming increasingly evident, with setbacks also experienced against Min Hyuk-Seung Jae in the quarter-finals of the Malaysia Open in January.
The former world champions also struggle against world No. 1 Satwiksairaj Rankireddy-Chirag Shetty of India and No. 2 Liang Wei Keng-Wang Chang of China.
They have failed to secure victories in their last three meetings against both pairs.
Wooi Yik underlined the significance of overcoming these pairs to surpass their bronze-medal achievement from the Tokyo Olympics three years ago.
"There's still a lot for us to learn ahead of the Olympics," said Wooi Yik.
"We need to figure out a way to win against our biggest opponents. In terms of strength, speed, and movement, we still have some catching up to do with higher-ranked pairs.
"It's crucial for us to analyse those opponents over the next few months, and I hope we can discover a winning formula before the Paris Games."
The only other pair ranked above Aaron-Wooi Yik, against whom they have fared better, are Denmark's Kim Astrup-Anders Skaarup Rasmussen, but facing them in Paris would pose a tough challenge.
The Danes will likely receive strong support from European fans at the Olympics.
Aaron-Wooi Yik will also need to be cautious of the threat posed by Japan's world No. 6 pair, Takuro Hoki-Yugo Kobayashi.
Under the guidance of former international Tan Kim Her, Hoki-Kobayashi have maintained an unbeaten record against Aaron-Wooi Yik in their last five encounters dating back to 2021.