Badminton News: Aaron Chia / Soh Wooi Yik need to start playing badminton with better quality if they want to make a breakthrough in World Tour competition.
On Saturday, the men’s doubles world champions suffered another heartbreak when they were knocked out in the semi-finals of the just-concluded Singapore Open.
Despite winning after winning the opener, world number 4 Malaysia still lost 16-21, 21-15 and 21-17 to Chinese world number 3 Liang Wei Keng/Wang Chang.
It was Aaron-Wooi Yik’s fourth loss in five meetings against the Chinese pair, which also prevented them from winning the Super 750 India Open in January.
“We lost to a stronger pair in the frontcourt. Their first three shots and attacks were better than us,” complained Wooi Yik in a post-match interview with rights holder SpoTV Malaysia.
Aaron admitted that they needed to make gameplay changes, especially at crucial moments, if they were to cross the finish line.
“We lost concentration at the crucial moment of the match. In the tiebreak, we matched their pace (Wei Keng/Wang Chang) until 15-15, but then we started thinking too much. We have to change,” he said.
“We apologize (to our fans) for not being able to win, but we promise to give our best again at the Indonesia Open,” Aaron added.
Since the establishment of the World Tour in 2018, Aaron and Wooi Yik have only reached four finals, including two Super 1000 events, namely the All England 2019 and the Thailand Open 2020.
With Olympic qualification in full swing, Aaron-Wooi Yik needs a quick fix so he doesn’t fall too far behind the front runners.
“We lost in the semi-finals, now we have to focus on the Indonesia Open. We start from the beginning, every opponent, we have to analyze,” Aaron said.
Aaron/Wooi Yik will face vice-host Muhammad Shohibul Fikri/Bagas Maulana in the first round of the Indonesia Open this week.
The Malaysian men’s doubles duo competing will consist of Malaysian second masters Man Wei Chong/Tee Kai Wun and world number 7 Ong Yew Sin/Teo Ee Yi.
Article Tags: Aaron Chia, Soh Wooi Yik, Indonesia Open 2023
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