Kuala Lumpur: Despite their recent struggling for form and confidence, the World No. 14 men’s doubles player Goh V Shem still optimistic about the chances of winning a gold medal at the Asian Games together with his partner Tan Wee Kiong.
Goh said he and Tan would like to do better than they did four years ago at the Incheon Asian Games, in South Korea, in which they won bronze in both individual and team events.
“We can’t use our third round defeat at the World Championships to predict what we could achieve at the Asian Games, because it’s totally different competition and atmosphere,” said Goh.
“We are no longer thinking about the World Championships, our focus now is to do better than 2014, which is to win either a silver or gold,” added Goh.
“You can’t say if you play well in the World Championships then you would play well in the Asian Games. The Asian Games are different competition because there will be individual and team events, and we are going to play in a different stadium too.”
“All these factors would definitely affect the performance of every participated pair, therefore, the door is wide open,” said the Rio 2016 Olympic silver medalist.
When speaking about the recent strong performance produced by Malaysia’s young pair of Aaron Chia/Soh Wooi Yik who was able to progress to the quarter-finals of the World Championships, Goh V Shem said it’s definitely something positive for the country.
“It’s a good sign for the development of our men’s doubles, because now we have three top pairs (Goh V Shem/Tan Wee Kiong, Aaron Chia/Soh Wooi Yik and Teo Ee Yi/Ong Yew Sin).
“I hope they can maintain their performance and continue to work hard,” said Goh.
The Asian Games badminton team and individual events will take place at Istora Gelora Bung Karno stadium, Jakarta from August 19 to August 28.
