KUALA LUMPUR: Whether the BA of Malaysia (BAM) is truly committed to adopting a more selective tournament participation policy for its shuttlers remains open to question, despite assurances from president Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Abdul Aziz barely two weeks ago.
If world No. 2 men's doubles pair Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik's first-round exit at the Indonesia Masters is any indication, little appears to have changed.
On Tuesday, top seeds Aaron-Wooi Yik bowed out after a bruising 63-minute battle, losing 20-22, 21-19, 21-16 to world No. 28 Danes Daniel Lundgaard-Mads Vestergaard at the Istora Senayan in Jakarta.
While the defeat marked their first loss to the Danish pair after three previous meetings, it was hardly a shock given the mounting signs of fatigue.
The Indonesia Masters is Aaron-Wooi Yik's third consecutive tournament, and the Olympic bronze medallists were playing their 10th match in just 15 days, having launched their 2026 campaign at the Malaysia Open on Jan 7.
That followed an already hectic December, where they were involved in back-to-back competitions at the SEA Games and the World Tour Finals.
What makes the situation more puzzling is that Aaron-Wooi Yik could have comfortably skipped the Indonesia Masters without any ranking repercussions, as their points tally would not have been affected unless they bettered last year's semi-final finish.
As a top-10 men's doubles pair, they are already obligated to compete in all Super 1000 and Super 750 tournaments, along with just two Super 500 events.
The Indonesia Masters is merely the first of nine Super 500 tournaments on this year's calendar.
Meanwhile, former world No. 1 Goh V Shem and his South Korean partner Choi Sol Gyu made a positive start, overcoming Thailand's Kittinupong Kedren-Lucas Ekarat Wedler 24-26, 21-19, 21-13.
In women's doubles, however, the step up to higher-tier World Tour competition continued to pose a challenge for Carmen Ting-Ong Xin Yee.
The world No. 25 pair suffered a first-round exit for the third tournament in a row, going down 21-19, 21-18 to Japan's world No. 23 Kano Osawa-Mai Tanabe.
Earlier in the day, two national women's pairs booked their spots in the main draw after clearing the qualifying rounds.
Cheng Su Hui-Tan Zhing Yi defeated Thailand's Phattharin Aiamvareesrisakul-Sarisa Janpeng 21-16, 21-17, while Chong Jie Yu-Vanessa Ng rallied past Indonesia's Nabila Cahya Permata Ayu-Nahya Muhyifa 16-21, 21-13, 21-19.
