Exhausted Aaron-Wooi Yik blast BWF over punishing 2026 calendar [WATCH]

KUALA LUMPUR: National doubles specialist Aaron Chia believes the early scheduling of the Super 1000 Malaysia Open is taking a physical toll on top pairs, hampering their ability to compete for the title.

The 2025 Badminton World Federation (BWF) season concluded with the World Tour Finals (WTF) in Hangzhou on Dec 21, leaving local favourites Aaron-Soh Wooi Yik with only 15 days to recover before the Malaysia Open begins at the Axiata Arena on Tuesday.

The Malaysia Open has served as the World Tour season opener since 2023.

The lack of recovery time may explain why no Malaysian pair has reached the men's doubles final since Goh V Shem and Lim Khim Wah won the title in 2014.

"I feel the Malaysia Open comes a bit too early for us. The WTF ended about two weeks ago, and it is now already the Malaysia Open," said Aaron said after training at the Axiata Arena on Sunday.

"Those who average 20 tournaments a season and played at the WTF are feeling the strain. Wooi Yik and I only had about two weeks to prepare and condition ourselves.

"It is really tough as top players cannot skip Super 1000 tournaments, so recovery and training time may not be sufficient."

Aaron suggested that the season should ideally start with lower-level Super 100 or Super 300 events to allow top-ranked pairs more time to recuperate.

"I hope the timing can be adjusted, perhaps to the end of January or the first week of February. Personally, the first tournament of the season shouldn't be a Super 1000," he said.

Despite the short turnaround, the world No. 2 said they are as ready as they can be after returning from Hangzhou.

Second seeds Aaron-Wooi Yik begin their campaign against world No. 32 Chen Zhi Yi-Presley Smith of the United States — a repeat of last year's first-round match, which the Malaysians won in three games.

"It went to three games last time, so we just need to stay focused," Aaron added.

The Malaysians will be looking to improve on last year's performance, where they suffered a second-round exit at the hands of Taiwan's Lee Fang Chih-Lee Fang Jen.