KUALA LUMPUR: National badminton mixed doubles pair Chan Peng Soon-Cheah Yee See intend to use the Denmark Open from Oct 18-23 to get their act right in their quest to qualify for the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Peng Soon, who won the mixed doubles silver medal with Goh Liu Ying at the 2016 Rio Olympics, said the main aspect that he and Yee See, who were only paired up in June, will have to overcome at the Arena Fyn in Odense is their inability to handle pressure during matches.
“Our combination is not perfect yet, not 100 per cent good and we are still struggling and not in sync. During training, we practice more on tactics to get a good rhythm but in a tournament, the pressure is different.
“Even if we train well, if there is no chemistry and we still have doubts, then that’s not good either and it also adds to the pressure. We don’t know when we will be able to click,” he said when met by reporters after a training session at the Akademi Badminton Malaysia (ABM) here today.
The 34-year-old Penang shuttler, however, is confident he can find the right technique to manage the stress and be in sync with Yee See.
The Badminton World Federation (BWF) have set the 2024 Paris Olympic qualification period from May 1, 2023 to April 28, 2024, with only 16 slots offered in mixed doubles.
Peng Soon-Yee See lost 19-21,17-21 to India’s Rohan Kapoot-Reddy Sikki in the quarter-finals of the Vietnam Open, which was their seventh outing since being paired up for the 2022 Indonesia Masters.
Last December, Peng Soon parted ways with Liu Ying after a 13-year combination, with the highlight of their long partnership being winning the mixed doubles silver at Rio 2016.
Peng Soon has since been paired up with Valeree Siow and Toh Ee Wei before settling on a partnership with Yee See.-Bernama