World Championship Title is Just the Beginning: Xie Su Duo Aim for Paris Olympic Gold

Jayce September 6, 2024 3 0

After becoming world champions, Malaysia’s national badminton team’s top men’s doubles pair, Xie Dingfeng and Su Weiyi, will continue to strive in upcoming competitions. They aim to win the World Tour titles, with one of their goals being to secure the gold medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics.

Xie Dingfeng and Su Weiyi

The “Xie Su Duo” of Xie Dingfeng and Su Weiyi made history by becoming the first Malaysians to win a World Championship title at the Tokyo World Badminton Championships. On September 7, during an award ceremony organized by the Malaysian Badminton Association and sponsors, where they received a total of 500,000 in prize money, they spoke to the media.

Su Weiyi stated that winning their first championship (the World Championship) has greatly motivated them to compete for the Paris Olympic gold medal: “We didn’t have the confidence to win a world championship before, but now that we’ve achieved this breakthrough, the Paris Olympics are an inspiration rather than a responsibility. We will work even harder for it. The Olympic gold medal and the world championship are both our dreams, and our goal at the Paris Olympics is definitely the gold medal. We must start working hard now, as there are only one or two years left until the Paris Olympics, and we must continuously improve our skills.”

Xie Dingfeng added that their goal is to win more titles on the World Tour: “Winning the world championship has boosted our confidence, but we also know that we must put in more effort. We haven’t yet won a World Tour title, and in the upcoming competitions, we plan to participate in many events without being selective, hoping to become true world champions.”

Xie Dingfeng and Su Weiyi

When asked again about how they deal with malicious online criticism, Su Weiyi first expressed that with support also comes criticism, and he views criticism as a source of motivation. However, when they were previously underperforming, and netizens called for their partnership to be dissolved, he ignored these comments and focused solely on his training, not letting these remarks distract him.

Xie Dingfeng agreed with his partner’s view, stating that there will always be both positive and negative comments. Even though they have won the world championship, some people believe that their opponents in the championship were more advantageous for them, which is why they could win the title. Therefore, Xie Dingfeng is even more determined to prove himself and sees criticism as a driving force for improvement. At the same time, he ignores the humorous comments.