BAC 2026: Herry Wants Aaron-Wooi Yik Not To Be Stressed With Defending Title

KUALA LUMPUR, March 27 (Bernama) -- National men's doubles head coach Herry Iman Pierngadi has reminded the national pair, Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik, not to think too much about defending the Badminton Asia (BAC) championship they won last year.

Instead, Herry suggested that the pair, who are ranked second in the world, take a cautious approach in every match they will face starting from the first round.

"Defending the championship is certainly tough. So I hope Aaron-Wooi Yik focus on one game at a time and don't think about the final.

"Because their opponents in the first round are not an easy pair to beat. So it's better for them to focus from one match to the next," he said when met after the national team's training session at the Badminton Academy Malaysia (ABM) in Bukit Kiara here today.

At BAC 2026 to be held in Ningbo, China early next month, the former world champions, who are seeded second, will open the tournament against the Taiwanese pair of Chiu Hsiang Chieh-Wang Chi Lin.

Meanwhile, Herry said he would use video analysis to help the national pair reduce mistakes when playing in the tournament.

According to him, the visual learning approach through video recordings is expected to have a more positive impact than using verbal instructions.

"Usually, before a tournament, we evaluate players through video recordings of their previous actions.

"If we just talk to the players, their ears will listen, but if it's video, their eyes will also focus," he said.

-- BERNAMA