KUALA LUMPUR — Aaron Chia and Soh Wooi Yik credited the unwavering support of Malaysian fans for helping them push through fatigue and secure a hard-fought win over Indian aces Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty to reach the Singapore Open final last night.
The former world champions came from behind to beat the world No. 27 pair 19-21, 21-10, 21-18 in a gripping semi-final encounter — marking their fourth consecutive final appearance this season, including runs at the Asian Championships, Thailand Open, and Malaysia Masters.
“Having many Malaysian fans today was a boost for us because they know our condition, especially since we’ve been playing in back-to-back tournaments,” Wooi Yik told the Badminton World Federation (BWF) after the match.
“Their support really motivated us to go further.”
The world No. 3 duo showed tremendous composure despite the heavy schedule, outlasting the reigning Hangzhou Asian Games champions in a high-quality, tactical battle.
“Today was a high-quality match and we knew it was going to be tough — they’re a very experienced pair and we’ve faced them many times,” added Wooi Yik.
“Every point is important. Even when we led by one or two points, we couldn’t relax. They’ve got a lot of strategies and every shot is critical, so our awareness had to be sharp throughout.”
Aaron acknowledged that they briefly let their guard down late in the decider but were able to recover just in time.
“I think during the third game when we had match point, we took our foot off the pedal a little and they started catching up,” said Aaron.
“But at the crucial moment, we got back our focus and converted the win.”
Looking ahead to the final, Aaron said they would need to recover quickly and give it their all in their final push.
“We’ll try our best. It’s the last step. We need to rest and recover well,” he said.
“It’s going to be a tough one, but we’ll give everything.”
Aaron and Wooi Yik will take on South Korea’s Kim Won-ho and Seo Seung-jae in the final later today. The Koreans upset Denmark’s Kim Astrup and Anders Skaarup Rasmussen 21-17, 21-16 in the other semi-final. — June 1, 2025