Badminton Malaysia's doubles experiment yet to yield results

Badminton Malaysia's (BAM) strategy of experimenting with new men's doubles pairings is facing early setbacks, with several new combinations failing to advance past the first round in recent tournaments. The latest disappointments came at the Japan and China Opens, where newly formed pairs were eliminated prematurely.

Aaron Chia and Aaron Tai made their debut in China but lost 17-21, 19-21 to Indonesia's Sabar Karyaman Gutama and Moh Reza Pahlevi Isfahani. Simultaneously, Tee Kai Wun and Yap Roy King were defeated by fellow Malaysians Nur Mohd Azriyn Ayub and Tan Wee Kiong with a score of 23-25, 17-21.

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As administrators, I respect the decisions made by the coaches. All these are joint decisions and I am sure they have their own plans regarding the combinations of doubles players.

These results follow the early exit of Man Wei Chong and Soh Wooi Yik at the Japan Open the previous week. This means three out of BAM's four new combinations have started their competitive journey with losses. While Chia and Tai showed resilience, particularly in the second set, they struggled to find chemistry against the world's eighth-ranked pair.

Despite the initial struggles, BAM Secretary-General Datuk Kenny Goh emphasized that these pairings are in an experimental phase. The reshuffle in the men's doubles sector is a joint decision by the coaching staff, who are developing a long-term plan for the qualifiers of the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics. Goh expressed confidence that coaches will continue to monitor the pairs' progress and make necessary adjustments.

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This is only the first tournament. I believe the coaches will continue to monitor the development of all pairs before making the best decision.