Badminton News: World Champions Aaron Chia / Soh Wooi Yik are in no mood to party after advancing to the semi-finals of the 2023 Singapore Open.

The world’s 4th-ranked duo battled it out to win 18-21, 21-16, 22-20 over world 10th-ranked Leo Rolly Carnando/Daniel Marthin of Indonesia in the men’s doubles quarter-final at the Singapore Indoor Stadium yesterday.

It was sweet revenge for the duo, who lost 18-21, 19-21 to Leo-Daniel in the quarter-finals of the Malaysia Masters two weeks ago.

It was also their first World Tour semi-final appearance since finishing runners-up at the Indian Open in January.

Since the trip to India, they have been eliminated in the first rounds of four tournaments (German Open, All-England, Swiss Open and Asian Championships) and the farthest they have come is the quarter-finals of the Masters in India and last month’s edition in Malaysia. .

Aaron/Wooi Yik should be delighted with their victory but disappointed with their performance.

“Even though we won, it wasn’t a game we were happy about,” Aaron said.

“In Game 3 we were leading by five to six points but we finished the game with a narrow victory,” he said.

“Whenever we take the lead, we tend to make a lot of unforced errors, which puts us in a tense situation. It’s something we have to work on.”

Aaron/Wooi Yik will face Chinese duo Liang Weikeng/Wang Chang, world number 3, in today’s semi-final, but their head-to-head record suggests it will be a difficult task.

They lost three times to the Chinese pair at the Indonesia Masters last June, the French Open last October and the India Open last January before beating them at the Indonesia Masters last January.

Today’s game could go in Aaron-Wooi Yik’s favor if Malaysia can repeat their brilliant performance in Indonesia.

Men’s doubles national coach Tan Bin Shen praised his team’s performance and urged them to prepare well for today’s match.

“They performed well and were clear on their strategy,” Bin Shen said.

“However, they need to prepare well, stay focused and perform optimally in the semi-finals.”

Article tags: Aaron Chia, Soh Wooi Yik, Leo Rolly Carnando, Daniel Marthin, Singapore Open 2023