KUALA LUMPUR – National doubles pair Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik became the first Malaysians to qualify for the China Open semifinals since 1989.
Datuk Razif Sidek and Datuk Seri Jalani Sidek won the title after defeating China’s Huang Zhanzhong-Zheng Yumin.
The exhilarating match, which witnessed an all-Malaysian affair, saw the world number 6 pair taking 62 minutes to overcome fellow compatriots Yew Sin-Ee Yi 21-19,19-21, 21-11 in Chengdu today.
Aaron-Wooi Yik is scheduled to play either South Korea’s Kang Min-hyuk-Seo Seung-jae or Indonesia’s Muhammad Shohibul Fikri-Bagas Maulana in tomorrow’s semifinals.
Also progressing to the semifinals were Chen Tang Jie-Toh Ee Wei and Tan Kian Meng-Lai Pei Jing who emerged victorious in the respective categories.
Tang Jie-Ee Wei defeated Taiwan’s Ye Hong Wei-Lee Chia Hsin, 21-15, 13-21, 21-16 in the mixed doubles category and will be facing France’s eighth-ranked pair, Thom Gicquel and Delphine Delrue, tomorrow for a spot in the final.
While the 23rd-ranked Tan Kian Meng-Lai Pei Jing won 21-18, 21-19 against Thailand’s Dechapol Puavaranukroh-Sapsiree Taerattanachai to book their slot in the top four match against South Korea’s world champions, Seo Seung-jae-Chae Yu-jung.
For the record, the best-ever achievement by a Malaysian mixed doubles pair at the China Open was attained by Chan Peng Soon-Goh Liu Ying, who reached the final in 2012. – September 8, 2023