Badminton

Aaron-Wooi Yik target world's top four ranking for better Olympic draw

KUALA LUMPUR: For men's pair, Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik, part one has been achieved - that is qualifying for the Olympics in July.

Now for part two - which is to improve their world ranking to as high as possible before the Paris showpiece.

Aaron said he and Wooi Yik cannot relax even though their Olympic berth has been secured.

Now, the former world champions aim to be among the top four seeded pairs at the Paris Games.

On the back of reaching the All England final a fortnight ago, Aaron-Wooi Yik have been handed a favourable draw for the Asian Championships in Ningbo, China, on April 9-14.

The world No. 5 will play a qualifier in the first round and are not expected to face any tough opponents until the quarter-finals, where they are slated to meet China's Liu Yu Chen-Ou Xuan Yi.

Barring any upsets, Aaron-Wooi Yik are likely to take on world No. 2 Kang Min Hyuk-Seo Seung Jae of South Korea in the last four.

"As we prepare for the Olympics, we need to focus on two different aspects: staying injury-free and improving our rankings.

"This is important for us to be seeded in Paris. We have spoken to our coaches about the draw, and we need to go all out in the next few tournaments," said Aaron.

Three other Malaysian men's doubles pairs will also take to the courts in Ningbo and could do Aaron-Wooi Yik a favour.

Independents Ong Yew Sin-Teo Ee Yi, who are already out of the Olympics race, will play Japan's Ayako Endo-Yuta Takei in the first round and likely to face China's world No. 3 Liang Wei Keng-Wang Chang in the following round.

Malaysia's third-ranked pair, Man Wei Chong-Tee Kai Wun, are also in the top half of the draw. They play China's Chen Bo Yang-Liu Yi in the first round and are slated to face world No. 1 Satwiksairaj Rankireddy-Chirag Shetty of India next.

Goh Sze Fei-Nur Izzuddin Rumsani are in the bottom half of the draw with Aaron-Wooi Yik. The Malaysians, ranked No. 19 in the world, take on Min Hyuk-Seung Jae in the first round.

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