KUALA LUMPUR – Malaysia’s hopes of delivering a gold medal in badminton came to an end as top men’s doubles pair Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik were defeated in the semi-finals of the individual event at the Hangzhou Asian Games.
The former world champions were tamed 17-21, 12-21 by India’s Satwiksairaj Rankireddy-Chirag Shetty in a match that lasted for 44 minutes at the Binjiang Gymnasium today.
The world number three-ranked Indians will be playing against South Korea’s Choi Sol-gyu and Kim Won-ho in tomorrow’s final.
The South Koreans marched into the final after defeating Chinese Taipei’s Lee Yang and Wang Chi-lin in today’s first semi-final.
The world number 10-ranked South Koreans took 34 minutes to defeat the 2020 Olympic gold medallists 21-12, 21-10.
Aaron and Wooi Yik share the bronze medal with the Chinese Taipei duo.
The Malaysian pair, who were making their debut in the tournament, cruised into the last four after defeating China’s Liu Yuchen-Ou Xuanyi 21-18, 19-21, 21-18 in the quarter-finals yesterday.
The last time Malaysia won an Asiad men’s doubles gold was back in 2006 in Doha through Koo Kien Keat and Tan Boon Heong. – October 6, 2023