Kuala Lumpur: Rexy Mainaky, coaching director for Badminton Academy Malaysia (BAM), strongly believes that Malaysia will finally win their first gold medal in badminton at the Paris 2024 Olympics.
Mainaky placed his hopes on the former world champion men’s doubles pair, Aaron Chia/Soh Wooi Yik, as the primary contenders to achieve this dream.
Drawing from his extensive experience as a player and coach, Mainaky noted that the world No. 5 men’s pair has shown significant improvement after nearly a month of intensive training at ABM in preparation for the world’s biggest sporting event.
Rexy is confident that with their excellent preparation and positive reception to training, Malaysia stands a strong chance of bringing home the gold from Paris.
Additionally, Rexy, who won an Olympic gold medal at the Atlanta 1996 Games, is optimistic about the potential of two other Malaysian representatives, Pearly Tan/Thinaah Muralitharan (women’s doubles) and Chen Tang Jie/Toh Ee Wei (mixed doubles), to also secure medals.
“In terms of performance, all pairs going to the Olympics, especially the men’s doubles, are on par, and as Paris approaches, every player will be under high pressure, not just ours but also from other countries,” said Mainaky.
“For Aaron and Wooi Yik, their preparation has been excellent, and I can see what Frederick Tan (the psychologist) has done to improve their mental strength, which is a significant advantage,” added Rexy.
Rexy also highlighted the chances of Pearly-Thinaah challenging for the championship.
“The situation for Pearly-Thinaah may be challenging as it is their first Olympic experience, but we must help them overcome it.”
“Sometimes, first-time Olympians overthink and lose focus, but it can go the other way, as seen with Indonesia’s Greysia Polii/Apriyani Rahayu, who won the women’s doubles gold at the Tokyo Olympics,” added Mainaky, referring to how Polii/Rahayu brought home Indonesia’s first women’s doubles gold.
