KUALA LUMPUR: Former men’s doubles world champions and currently ranked fourth in the world, Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik lived up to their top billing by cruising into the quarter-finals of the 2024 Malaysia Open after beating Goh Sze Fei-Nur Izzuddin Rumsani in an all-Malaysian second round encounter.
In the action at the Axiata Arena, the 2022 world champions beat Sze Fei-Nur Izzuddin 21-15, 21-16 in straight sets to establish themselves as the number one men’s doubles pair in the country.
However, the pair are expected to face an uphill task in the quarter-finals tomorrow since they will be facing South Korea’s 2023 world champions Kang Min Hyuk-Seo Seung Jae who beat Lee Jhe Huei-Yang Po Hsuan from Taiwan 21-13, 21-14 in straight sets.
“A little sad to have disposed our sparring partners because we train together everyday. Unfortunately, we still need to prove our best and we played more consistently.
“I and Aaron have been in similar situations many times before so we have to be very focused tomorrow. There is no denying that tomorrow is going to be a tough assignment. We hope the support from the home fans can gives us a big boost,” said Wooi Yik when met by reporters after the match.
Based on statistics, Min Hyuk-Seung Jae who emerged as 2023 World Tour Finals champions defeated Aaron-Wooi Yik in their first meeting at the World Championships in August while Aaron-Wooi Yik turned the tables on the South Korean pair in the semifinals of the 2023 China Open a month later.
Aaron-Wooi Yik’s best achievement in the Malaysia Open is reaching the semifinals in 2019 and last year they were eliminated in the second round.
Earlier, the country’s professional men’s doubles pair Ong Yew Sin-Yeo Ee Yi marched into the quarter-finals after stunning Denmark’s world number five pair Kim Astrup-Anders Skaarup Rasmussen 21-10, 11-21, 24-22 in three sets.
But while the two men’s doubles pairs advanced to the quarter-finals, the country’s representation in all other categories ended today as Goh Jin Wei lost in the women’s singles, while three mixed doubles pairs Goh Soon Huat-Shevon Lai Jemie, Chan Peng Soon-Cheah Yee See, Chen Tang Jie-Toh Ee Wei also failed to advance. –Bernama