KUALA LUMPUR: They may be nearing the twilight of their badminton careers, but world No. 24 Ong Yew Sin-Teo Ee Yi are still driven by their dreams to qualify for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics (LA28).
It will be a difficult task for Yew Sin, 30, and Ee Yi, 32, but the independent men's pair are optimistic they can still make it to LA28.
A country is allowed a maximum of two pairs if it is in the top eight at the end of the qualifying period in May, 2028.
But Yew Sin-Ee Yi will have to vie with compatriots Goh Sze Fei-Nur Izzuddin Rumsani (world No. 3) and Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik (world No. 6) for a place.
The other Malaysians also in Olympic qualifying mood are world No. 14 Man Wei Chong-Tee Kai Wun, world No. 21 Choong Hon Jian-Haikal Nazri and world No. 23 Wan Arif Wan Junaidi-Yap Roy King
"Our dream is to compete in the Olympics. We came close to qualifying for the last edition, but were affected by injuries," said Yew Sin.
"We now target to qualify for LA28. It's a dream for us to reach it."
Yew Sin-Ee Yi did well to reach the quarter-finals of the ongoing Malaysia Open where they were finally stopped by India's Asian Games champions Satwiksairaj Rankireddy-Chirag Shetty on Friday.
Former world No. 1 Tan Boon Heong, who has been running an academy, assisted Yew Sin-Ee Yi in preparing for the Malaysia Open after their coach, Rosman Razak, left to join BAM last November. And Boon Heong may continue until Yew Sin-Ee Yi have decided on their new coach.
Yew Sin-Ee Yi's next stop will be the India Open where they face an uphill task against world No. 2 Liang Wei Keng-Wang Chang of China in the first round next week.
However, they will not lack confidence after having beaten world No. 4 Fajar Alfian-Rian Ardianto of Indonesia and a strong South Korean scratch pair Jin Yong-Kang Min Hyuk at the Malaysia Open this week.