Aaron-Wooi Yik eye revenge in Singapore Open final
KUALA LUMPUR: Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik are one step from glory at the Singapore Open, and after surviving a nerve-jangling semi-final, the Malaysian pair are fired up to end the nation's 17-year title drought.
The world No. 3 showed nerves of steel on Saturday, holding off a spirited fightback to beat India's world No. 27 Satwiksairaj Rankireddy-Chirag Shetty 19-21, 21-10, 21-18 in 64 minutes.
Aaron-Wooi Yik looked to be cruising at 20-11 in the decider before allowing the Indians to claw back seven straight points.
But they dug deep to finally close out the match - their 10th win in 13 meetings against the reigning Asian Games champions.
"That last stretch was intense," admitted Aaron.
"We lost a bit of focus but managed to stay calm when it mattered."
Wooi Yik added: "We couldn't afford to relax even when leading. They're a very experienced pair, and every point counted."
The hard-fought win earned the Malaysians their fourth consecutive final appearance - a career first - and set up a blockbuster clash against South Korea's world No. 10 Kim Won Ho-Seo Seung Jae.
The Koreans have been in scorching form this year, with titles at the Malaysia Open, German Open and All England, and underlined their threat with a 21-17, 21-16 win over Denmark's world No. 2 Kim Astrup-Anders Skaarup Rasmussen in the other semi-final.
Aaron-Wooi Yik have extra motivation, not just to capture their first Singapore crown, but also to avenge a painful semi-final loss to the Koreans at the India Open in January, their only previous meeting.
"The final's going to be a tough battle," said Aaron.
"We'll recover well and go all out."
Malaysia have not tasted victory in the men's doubles at the Singapore Open since Fairuzizuan Tazari-Zakry Latif triumphed in 2008, bust with Aaron-Wooi Yik in red-hot form, having won the Badminton Asia Championships and Thailand Open, and finishing runners-up at the Malaysia Masters, the 17-year wait could finally end on Sunday.
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