A lot will rest on the shoulders of Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik ahead of their Thomas Cup opener against England on Monday, with plenty of questions posed on their ability to deliver the crucial second point in this biennial affair.

With Lee Zii Jia expected to deliver the first point against Japan, England and the United States who replaced New Zealand in Group D, Chia-Soh would be expected to add to that lead.

But the world number seven pair's performances so far were erratic to say the least.

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Despite doing well to reach the Badminton Asia Championships final last week, the pair’s straight game defeat was a shocker that left men’s doubles coaching director Rexy Mainaky ‘speechless’.

Soh was culpable for several questionable decision making during that defeat, something which he said looking to fix right away.

“I need to improve on my mental strength and control my emotions on court. Yes we lost last week, but I felt we did well enough to reach the final. That must serve as motivation at the Thomas Cup.

“We are also in communications with the coaches on how to improve here in Bangkok,” he said.

Soh and Chia previously featured in the 2018 and 2020 editions of the Thomas Cup, so they know everything about the expectations and pressure that this prestigious affair brings about.

As the top ranked men’s doubles pair, Chia-Soh would have to navigate two tricky encounters against England’s Marcus Ellis-Chris Langridge and Japan’s Takuro Hoki-Yugo Kobayashi, whom they lost to in the last three occasions.

Malaysia are not lost for options in the men’s doubles departments, with Goh Sze Fei-Nur Izzuddin and Ong Yew Sin-Teo Ee Yi also in the mix.

But plenty would depend on that capabilities on Chia-Soh to deliver the all-important second point, which could mean neither of the other two pairs even having to play should Ng Tze Yong win the third point.

The Thomas Cup team, meanwhile, underwent their first training session at the Impact Arena in Bangkok.

Malaysia open their campaign against England (May 9), followed by the United States (May 10) and Japan (May 11).

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