Turning into bravehearts
On fire: Aaron Chia (left) and Soh Wooi Yik pose after their victory against Kim Won-ho-Seo Seung-jae of South Korea at the Singapore Open. — AFP
PETALING JAYA: It's a new era of consistency for men's doubles players Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik under coach Herry Iman Pierngadi.
Yesterday, the former world champions Aaron-Wooi Yik fought bravely to slay formidable South Korean foes Kim Won-ho-Seo Seung-jae 15-21, 21-18, 21-19 in the men's doubles final to lift their first Singapore Open title.
There were anxious moments towards the end but the Malaysians did not crumble as they used to in the past, but instead, had the last laugh by outfoxing the All-England champions to bag the US$74,000 prize money.
It was the Malaysians' third title and fourth final appearance this year.
In fact, it was their third back-to-back final but they hardly showed any sign of lethargy at the Lion City but kept attacking the world No. 10 Won-ho-Seung-jae.
And Aaron attributed their fine run to their growing confidence under Herry.
'We are glad and happy with our consistent show.
'One of the aspects that had made the difference for us is our new coach. We have to give him the credit,' said Aaron.
'He had polished our game play and is turning us to be more solid and consistent.
'And all these are helping us to feel more confident of ourselves and is leading us to play confidently.'
Wooi Yik, who has shown a lot of improvement and seemed more calm under duress, said their trust in each other also played a key role.
'Our trust in each other and the match preparation made the difference in our game. It was close in the decider but Aaron calmed me down. We wanted a victory but fortunately, we didn't rush into it,' said Wooi Yik.
Will they have enough fuel in the tank to give another good showing and stay unbeatable at the Indonesian Open starting tomorrow in Jakarta?
Aaron and Wooi Yik do hope so.
'We still have much to improve, as long as we train hard and translate it into our game, the results will come,' added Wooi Yik.
Meanwhile, Thailand's Kunlavut Vitidsarn was on top of the world after beating Lu Guangzu of China 21-6, 21-10 in just 37 minutes to lift the men's singles title.
The former world champion, currently ranked second behind Shi Yuqi of China in the world ranking, is set to become Thailand's first men's singles player to be ranked No. 1 in the world when the Badminton World Federation (BWF) publish the new list tomorrow.
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