KUALA LUMPUR: National mixed doubles pair Hoo Pang Ron-Toh Ee Wei are determined to improve their position in the world rankings before the qualification period for the 2024 Paris Olympic Games which starts in May next year.
Pang Ron said he and his partner, who are currently ranked 40th in the world, will try to show their best performance at the French Open and Hylo Open in Germany to be in a better position, thus facilitating their path to qualify for Paris.
The 24-year-old said that if they were ranked better, they could avoid being drawn against higher-ranked pairs in the preliminary rounds of the qualifiers.
“For now, I am not saying that we are satisfied with our ranking because we have not achieved anything encouraging, so we need to be at a better level to fight for the next Olympics,“ he said when met after a training session at Akademi Badminton Malaysia here yesterday.
The French Open will take place from Oct 25 to 30, while the Hylo Open from Nov 1 to 6.
The Badminton World Federation (BWF) set the qualifying period for Paris 2024 from May 1, 2023 to April 28, 2024.
In the meantime, Pang Ron said at the moment, he is focused on finding compatibility with his partner in training sessions.
Commenting on the progress of his eye health, Pang Ron said his right eye was at the 80 per cent level before fully recovering.
“My (right) eye is getting better, tomorrow I have a check up with a specialist, everyday it is getting better. Now I don’t think it bothers me very much because my goal is to focus on fighting for a place in the Olympics,“ he said.
The pair had to pull out of the 2022 Denmark Open which runs from Oct 18-23 after Pang Ron contracted a corneal ulcer in his right eye recently. - Bernama