Nothing in life comes easy, there’s always going to be ups and downs. This applies not only to normal people like you and me but also to superstar athletes like Soh Wooi Yik. 

Despite his latest victory in the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, I’m pretty sure not many of you know that he was once dropped from the national team. Imagine how heart-breaking that must have been for him!

In an interview with Utusan, Wooi Yik’s father, Soh Goon Chap said that his son received an offer to go Sekolah Sukan Bukit Jalil (SSBJ) when he was only 13 years old. However, he was dropped from the national team a few years later by Morten Frost Hansen, the Technical Director of the Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) due to an injury. 

He also said that Wooi Yik started his career as a singles player when he joined SSBJ but Frost realized that he had more potential and talent as a doubles player and partnered him up with Aaron before switching his partner to Ooi Zi Heng.

His father also said that Wooi Yik loved for badminton and said that Wooi Yik easily get “kancheong” a local Hokkien word that means nervous or scared. His father also spoke about Wooi Yik’s determination and how hard he works to achieve something he sets his mind on, even forgetting to take a break and rest sometimes. 

After leaving the national team, Wooi Yik join the Petaling Badminton Club in early 2017 and paired up with Chen Tang Jie. They joined two international competitions together before Wooi Yik was called by the National Badminton Camp.

In October 2017, he returned to the national team and paired up with Aaron. Together, they managed to go to the finals of the All England 2019 match and also achieved many other wins together. 

Soh Goon Chap also admitted that he is so proud of this son’s success and hope that he can achieve bigger and better wins in the future. 

Once again, Congratulations to Aaron and Wooi Yik for bring home Malaysia’s first bronze medal in the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games!