KUALA LUMPUR — National men’s doubles pair Aaron Chia and Soh Wooi Yik have kept the Malaysian flag flying high on English soil by securing their spot in today’s All England final.
The world number five pair, who has been displaying smashing form in the world’s oldest badminton championship, showed no mercy to their opponents as they easily defeated Chinese Taipei’s world number 16 pair Lee Jhe Huei-Yang Po Hsuan 21-16, 21-15 in a match that lasted 35 minutes at the Utilita Arena in Birmingham.
This morning’s victory marked Aaron-Wooi Yik’s fourth consecutive win against the Chinese Taipei pair.
Wooi Yik said that he and his partner were fully focused on their gameplay, entering the match with a strategic approach to neutralise their opponents, renowned for their aggressive style of play.
“We were very focused and well-prepared through the analysis video and our discussion with our coaches before the game.
“I have personally been watching their videos more recently. They have improved so much, and they tend to apply pressure when they attack.
“It was really hard for us whenever they attacked, as they were sharper and stronger. We came up with the strategy of not giving them too much space to attack, we made them make a lot of errors in the match and our gameplay worked today.
“We hope to maintain this gameplay in our next performance,” said Wooi Yik during the post-match interview with the Badminton World Federation.
Meanwhile, Aaron added that they are not out of the woods yet, expressing their readiness to make one final push for the prestigious title after recovering from this morning’s intense match.
“We are at this stage after five long years, and we are happy with our performance. We were focused on our game plan, and we did our part well.
“But our job is not done yet as we have another match to go. We will try to get enough rest and give our best tomorrow,” added Aaron.
Following Lee Zii Jia’s quarter-final exit in the men’s singles event, Aaron-Wooi Yik remain the only Malaysian challenger left in the prestigious Super 1000 event.
The pair is now just one step away from clinching their first-ever All England title after missing out in 2019, where they succumbed to Indonesia’s Mohammad Ahsan-Hendra Setiawan in the final.
In the final scheduled tonight, the former world champions will face world number seven Indonesians, Fajar Alfian-Muhammad Rian Ardianto. — March 17, 2024