National doubles coaching director Rexy Mainaky has brushed aside suggestions that exhaustion was behind Aaron Chia and Soh Wooi Yik’s surprise first-round exit at the Indonesian Masters on Tuesday (Jan 20).
“It was not fatigue; they simply made too many mistakes,” said Rexy.
Top seeds Aaron-Wooi Yik suffered their first-ever defeat to Denmark’s Daniel Lundgaard and Mads Vestergaard, going down 22-20, 19-21, 16-21 in a 63-minute encounter at the iconic Istora Senayan.
Speculation quickly emerged that the upset could be linked to the demanding schedule faced by the world champions. The pair had finished runners-up at the Malaysian Open in Kuala Lumpur two weeks ago and reached the semi-finals of the Indian Open in New Delhi last week.
Even before the new BWF World Tour season began, Aaron and Wooi Yik had competed at the World Tour Finals in Hangzhou, shortly after representing Malaysia at the SEA Games in Thailand.
However, Rexy, who was present at the Istora Senayan, insisted that the pair were fully prepared and firmly rejected fatigue as a factor in their defeat.
“Aaron and Wooi Yik’s defence was not working. In the second and third games, they made too many mistakes, including several lifts that went long and out of court,” he explained.
“There was no issue of tiredness. It was just not their day, especially defensively,” he added.
Despite the early exit, the setback could prove to be a blessing in disguise, as it allows Aaron and Wooi Yik to take a proper break and fine-tune their preparations ahead of the upcoming European tour.
