KUALA LUMPUR – Malaysian pair Aaron Chia and Soh Wooi Yik have overcome their semi-final jinx this year after booking their spot in the final of the China Open.
In the semi-finals held at the Olympic Sports Centre Gymnasium, the world number six pair delivered a spirited performance, defeating the fourth-ranked South Koreans Kang Min-hyuk and Seo Seung-jae 21-18, 21-17 in a match that lasted for 41 minutes.
If Aaron and Wooi Yik prevail in tomorrow’s final, they will be the first Malaysian pair to win the tournament in 34 years.
“We are feeling really good about this victory. It was one of the best performances we’ve had, and we are so satisfied to win today, as they are the reigning world champions, and we lost to them a fortnight ago,” said Wooi Yik in a post-match interview with the Badminton World Federation.
“We are happy to have overcome the obstacles, and our consistency helped us gain confidence during the game.
“There’s no pressure for us to go up against our Chinese opponents in the final, as it’s their home court. It’s going to be a 50-50 game, so we just need to prepare our minds to fight them and give it our best.”
Meanwhile, Aaron spoke on how the Malaysians’ tactics had been to disrupt their opponents’ flow. “As we know, Seo is quick, and he’s a great advantage for our opponent’s pair,” he said after the match.
“We can’t match up with their speed. Hence, we had to play a tactical game to break their momentum, which ultimately led to our victory,” he added.
Aaron and Wooi Yik’s last performance in the tournament came in 2019, which saw them exit in the first round against Japan’s Hiroyuki Endo and Yuta Watanabe.
Datuk Razif Sidek and Datuk Seri Jalani Sidek remain the only Malaysian men’s doubles pair to have won the China Open, defeating China’s Huang Zhanzhong-Zheng Yumin in 1989.
Aaron and Wooi Yik will be battling in tomorrow’s final against home hopes Liang Weikeng and Wang Chang, who are ranked third in the world. – September 9, 2023