KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 8 — National top men’s doubles pair Aaron Chia and Soh Wooi Yik battled their way into the quarter-finals of the Malaysia Open 2026 at Axiata Arena, Bukit Jalil today.
The second seeds were taken the distance before prevailing over China’s Chen Xu Jun and Liu Yang 14-21, 21-14, 21-14 in 62 minutes in the season opener.
Soh admitted they were prepared for a stern test, particularly against unfamiliar opponents.
“We knew the Chinese pair would not be easy to beat, so we had to be ready for that. We did not underestimate them,” he told the media in a post-match interview.
The world number two pair will next face either Indonesia’s eighth seeds Sabar Karyaman Gutama and Moh Reza Pahlevi Isfahani or South Korea’s Kang Min Hyuk and Ki Dong Ju in the quarter-finals tomorrow.
Also advancing to the quarter-finals were compatriots and fifth seeds Man Wei Chong and Tee Kai Wun, who thrashed Japan’s Hiroki Midorikawa and Kyohei Yamashita 21-9, 21-15 in just 29 minutes.
Tee said the strong support from the home crowd played a key role in lifting their performance.
However, another national pair, Wan Arif Wan Junaidi and Yap Roy King, saw their campaign come to an end after going down 18-21, 11-21 to India’s third seeds Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty in 39 minutes.
Meanwhile, professional duo Goh Sze Fei and Nur Izzuddin Rumsani also bowed out after suffering their second consecutive defeat to England’s Ben Lane and Sean Vendy, losing 13-21, 17-21.
Goh admitted that too many unforced errors affected their performance.
Independent duo Nur Mohd Azriyn Ayub-Tan Wee Kiong suffered a similar fate, losing to the defending champions from South Korea, Kim Won Ho-Seo Seung Jae, in 41 minutes.
Top seed Won Ho-Seung Jae will meet Wei Chong-Kai Wun in the last eight of the Super 1000 tournament.
The Malaysia Open 2026 runs until Sunday (January 11).
