KUALA LUMPUR – National men’s doubles pair Aaron Chia and Soh Wooi Yik are not out of the woods yet, as they have another match ahead to compete for the bronze medal at the Paris Olympics.
Despite losing to the world number one pair, Liang Weikeng and Wang Chang of China, Aaron and Wooi Yik deserve credit for putting up a great fight.
They were determined to secure a place in the final and avenge their earlier group-stage loss against the same opponents.
At the Porte de La Chapelle Arena, they ultimately had to concede defeat with a score of 19-21, 21-15, 21-17.
Despite their attempt to use the same strategy that worked against Indian pair Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty in yesterday’s quarter-final, Wooi Yik found it was not as effective against their Chinese opponents.
They also tried altering their game plan, but it proved unsuccessful.
Wooi Yik admitted that their rush to score points led to numerous unforced errors, which ultimately gave their opponents an advantage.
“Every point is crucial because it sets the tone for the next few shots. Gaining confidence with each point won is vital.
“We tried various strategies, but unfortunately, we couldn’t advance to the final,” Wooi Yik said in an interview with the Badminton World Federation.
It was a disappointing outcome for Aaron and Wooi Yik, who hoped to improve their Tokyo 2020 performance, where they won a bronze medal.
To redeem themselves, the duo must win their bronze medal match tomorrow.
They will face Denmark’s Kim Astrup and Anders Skarrup Rasmussen, who lost to China’s Lee Yang and Wang Chi Lin in another semi-final.
The pair needs to rest adequately and devise a solid strategy over the next 24 hours to prepare for the match, aiming to at least replicate their achievement from Tokyo.
“We had the right game plan, but we couldn’t execute our shots properly. We were too rushed, which led to more unforced errors,” Aaron reflected.
“We did our best, and while the result wasn’t what we hoped for. Now we need to focus on bringing home a medal in the bronze match,” said Aaron. – August 2, 2024