Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) performance committee chairman Datuk Seri Lee Chong Wei was disappointed by accusations that he had misused his position to not include Soh Wooi Yik in the Aichi-Nagoya 2026 Asian Games squad.
Lee Chong Wei stressed that every decision he announced was made collectively and that he did not have the authority to exclude any player personally.
However, the former world number 1 tennis player admitted that Wooi Yik was not called to discuss with the coaches regarding the Asian Games squad.
“I am the chairman of the performance committee and I want to be fair to everyone. There have been a lot of comments and some people are angry with me, and I can accept that,” said Chong Wei.
“Any decision you make in this position is never easy. Some people even say, ‘You’re not world champion, but you’re managing a world champion.'”
“It’s not easy to be in this position. Before I joined BAM, I think the president also knew what I wanted to do. Everything I did was for the good of BAM and for the good of this country.”
“It’s not about me not liking any player. If I didn’t like Aaron or Wooi Yik, I could have said I don’t want them at the Asian Games, but that’s not how it works and I don’t have that kind of power.”
“We have a committee and we have coaches. The coaches hand me the list of players, we discuss it together, and then the decision is approved.”
At the Asian Games, Aaron will partner Tee Kai Wun, and former world number 1 Goh Sze Fei-Nur Izzuddin Rumsani is also included in the men’s doubles line-up.
However, Lee Chong Wei considers the issue involving Aaron and Wooi Yik to have been resolved after the two were given the green light to continue their partnership.
He met with the two players along with national doubles coaching director Rexy Mainaky and men’s doubles head coach Herry Iman Pierngadi, where all issues relating to the pair were discussed and resolved amicably.
“I said to Wooi Yik and Aaron, ‘It’s OK, we close this chapter now. What do you want? What do you need? How can I help you?'”
“Both said they wanted to partner with each other again. I spoke with Rexy and we agreed to let them continue their partnership.”
“They have split up and tried different partners before. But after playing together again at the World Championships, maybe they realized that they still want to be together for the 2028 Olympics,” said Chong Wei.
Article Tag: lee chong wei, soh wooi yik, aaron chia, asian games aichi-nagoya 2026
Published by Ligaolahraga.com at https://www.ligaolahraga.com/badminton/lee-chong-wei-pencoretan-soh-wooi-yik-dari-asian-games-kebesaran-bersama