KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 10 — National men’s top doubles pair Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik are the only Malaysians left standing in the Malaysia Open, after storming into the semi-finals at the Axiata Arena in Bukit Jalil here last night.
The second-seeded Aaron-Wooi Yik sealed a spot in today’s semi-final, taking just 34 minutes to send off Indonesia’s Sabar Karyaman Gutama-Moh Reza Pahlevi Isfahani in the quarter-final yesterday.
After edging the eighth seeds in the opening set 19-21, the world No.2 pair turned on the style in the second set, racing to an 11-2 lead before stamping their dominance to walk away with a 21-10 victory, much to the delight of the home crowd.
The victory was made even sweeter as it marked Aaron-Wooi Yik’s first win over the world No.8 pair after three consecutive defeats previously, earning the home duo their first Malaysia Open semi-finals since the 2022 edition.
Awaiting the 2022 world champions next are another Indonesian combination, Fajar Alfian-Muhammad Shohibul Fikri, after the sixth seeds stunned India’s third-seeded Satwiksairaj Rankireddy-Chirag Shetty 21-10, 23-21 in straight sets.
Speaking after the match, Aaron said they did not dwell on their unfavourable head-to-head record against Sabar-Moh Reza and credited their supporters for inspiring them to do their best on court.
“We just fought and did not think about the head-to-head record. Thank you to the fans who supported us, especially in the first set, they made us more confident,” he said.
Wooi Yik, on the other hand, hopes to maintain their momentum and become the first local pair to reach the Malaysia Open final in 12 years, since Goh V Shem-Lim Khim Wah last won the title in 2014.
Fifth seeds Wei Chong-Kai Wun, meanwhile, fell 14-21, 17-21 to South Korea’s top seeds Kim Won Ho-Seo Seung Jae in 41 minutes.
Kai Wun conceded that a series of unforced errors proved costly, a lapse that ultimately extended their winless streak against the world No.1 pair to six matches.
Earlier, reigning mixed doubles world champions and fourth seeds Chen Tang Jie-Toh Ee Wei were stunned by seventh seeds from Hong Kong Tang Chun Man-Tse Ying Suet, 17-21, 21-17, 10-21 in 67 minutes.
