KUALA LUMPUR, July 19 — National mixed doubles player Chan Peng Soon is hoping to put on his best performance to bring back the elusive gold medal during his last Commonwealth Games outing in Birmingham, England.
The 2016 Rio Olympics silver medallist said that he wanted to have a fairytale ending by being able to dedicate the gold to Malaysia in his fourth Commonwealth Games appearance.
“I think this is my last Commonwealth Games and I want to try to get a gold medal because I only won a bronze in the individual (mixed doubles) event.
“For me, the Commonwealth Games is very important as I’m proud to represent the country for a fourth time. Not many people can do that, even making a single appearance is difficult,” he told reporters at the Malaysian Badminton Academy in Bukit Kiara here today.
The 34-year-old had previously been paired with Goh Liu Ying in 2010 and 2018, and managed to win the bronze in 2018 in Gold Coast, Australia. For the 2014 Glasgow, Scotland edition he was paired with Lai Pei Jing.
Currently ranked 113 in the world with partner Cheah Yee See, Peng Soon was happy to have found his rhythm as a new pair after playing in five championships, the latest being the Singapore Open last week.
He said that in order to be a medal contender for Malaysia, they would need to play well to beat better-known pairs at the Games.
“The Singapore and England pairs are contenders but we can’t look down at the Indian pairs. So I feel these three countries are big challenges to our country,” he said, adding that his previous Commonwealth Games outings have helped boost his confidence in playing with Yee See.
Yee See, 26, meanwhile said she was determined to do her best as she makes her Commonwealth Games debut at the end of this month.
She admitted that there was still room to improve her game with Peng Soon and wanted to make the most of the opportunity.
“What’s most important is we have a rotation combination that requires a lot of training,” she added.
The Birmingham Commonwealth Games will take place from July 28 to August 8. — Bernama
