Aaron-Khai Xing robbed as bad line call kills all-Malaysian showdown
KUALA LUMPUR: A controversial line call may have denied Aaron Tai-Kang Khai Xing a famous win and a chance to set up an all-Malaysian men's doubles quarter-final clash against world No. 3 Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik at the Malaysia Masters on Friday.
Denmark's world No. 16 Rasmus Kjaer-Frederik Sogaard edged world No. 58 Aaron-Khai Xing 21-10, 24-26, 21-16 in a thrilling second-round 67-minute clash at the Axiata Arena — but a dubious call cast a shadow over the result.
While leading 14-12 in the deciding game, Kjaer's smash clearly went wide, but Swiss umpire Peter Meszaros ruled that the shuttle had clipped Aaron's head, awarding the Danes a contentious point and pushing their lead to 15-12.
The pair, their coaches Herry IP and Muhammad Miftakh, and the crowd strongly protested the decision, which changed the course of the match.
Had the point gone Malaysia's way, the score would have tightened to 14-13 — giving the world junior champions a realistic shot at pulling off an upset.
A devastated Khai Xing was on the verge of tears after the match.
"This is unfair. The shuttle was out, and it didn't hit Aaron, but the umpire said it touched him," he said.
"It's not the only one. There were two more bad calls before that. It really affected us."
"This experience will make us wiser and tougher if we face this kind of situation again."
Meanwhile, Thailand Open champions Aaron-Wooi Yik had no such trouble as they breezed past Taiwan's world No. 21 Liu Kuang Heng-Yang Po Han 21-13, 21-16 in just 39 minutes.
"We will definitely be tired after back-to-back tournaments and there's always pressure playing at home," said Wooi Yik.
"But mentally, we want to stay strong. We can't be at our best all the time, but we must figure out how to win in every situation."
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