KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 21 — National men’s doubles head coach Herry IP has called for a clear reset in physical preparation from Aaron Chia–Soh Wooi Yik, insisting fitness — not pressure — was the decisive factor behind their early exit at the BWF World Tour Finals (WTF).

World No. 2 Chia–Soh won only one of three Group B matches in Hangzhou and failed to reach the semi-finals, a disappointing return at an event featuring the top eight pairs on the World Tour and a winner’s prize of US$252,000 (RM1.03 million).

They opened with a draining three-game win over Indonesia’s world No. 8 Fajar Alfian-Shohibul Fikri, edging through 22-24, 21-18, 21-19, but were then outpaced by China’s world No. 5 Liang Wei Keng-Wang Chang (21-14, 21-18) and India’s world No. 3 Satwiksairaj Rankireddy-Chirag Shetty (17-21, 21-18, 21-15).

“Everyone faces pressure but Aaron-Wooi Yik are mature players, so the pressure won’t affect them too much. However, there was a clear drop in their physical condition,” Herry said, according to The New Straits Times (NST). 

“Of course, there is disappointment because they failed to reach the semi-finals. But they must work on their physical condition to improve their performance and stay competitive with the world top four pairs.”

The national daily said that Herry rejected suggestions that the SEA Games 2025 had taken too much out of the pair, noting they played six matches over eight days, with only two against a top-10 combination — Indonesia’s Sabar Karyaman-Moh Reza Isfahani — in Bangkok. 

In fact, their straight-game defeats to Sabar-Reza in both the men’s team final and men’s doubles final at the SEA Games were, in hindsight, early warning signs of the physical drop-off that surfaced again at the WTF.

Malaysia’s struggles were not limited to one pair. World No. 4 Man Wei Chong–Tee Kai Wun also exited in the group stage. 

They beat Taiwan’s world No. 16 Chiu Hsiang Chieh-Wang Chi Lin (21-18, 21-19) but lost to Sabar-Reza (23-21, 21-19) and South Korea’s world No. 1 Kim Won Ho-Seo Seung Jae (25-23, 14-21, 21-19) in Group A.

With the Malaysia Open scheduled for January 6 to 11, Herry made it clear there is little time to waste. 

A sharper focus on conditioning is now non-negotiable for Chia–Soh if they are to reassert themselves among the world’s elite, while a full recovery from injury could be key for Tee to regain his form as the new season begins.

Caption suggestion: National coach Herry IP has urged Aaron Chia and Soh Wooi Yik to overhaul their fitness after falling short at the World Tour Finals.