Doubles continue dominant show as Aaron-Wooi Yik reach quarters in China
PETALING JAYA: World No. 2 men's doubles pair Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik marched into the China Open quarter-finals after a convincing win over French brothers Christo and Toma Junior Popov on Thursday (July 24).
Aaron-Wooi Yik produced a composed performance to seal a 21-17, 21-18 victory in just 35 minutes in the second round at the Changzhou Olympic Sports Centre.
The win is a boost for the national camp as Aaron-Wooi Yik will face the winners of the all-Malaysian match between Nur Azriyn Ayub-Tan Wee Kiong and Man Wei Chong-Tee Kai Wun in the last eight.
With that, Malaysia will have at least one representative in the semi-finals.
Another men's pair, Teo Ee Yi-Ong Yew Sin, also kept up their fine momentum by defeating Thailand's Kittinupong Kedren-Dechapol Puavaranukroh 21-16, 21-16 to reach the quarter-finals.
They are set to face India's Satwiksairaj Rankireddy-Chirag Shetty on Friday.
Meanwhile, mixed doubles pair Wong Tien Ci-Lim Chiew Sien put up a spirited fight against top seeds Feng Yanzhe-Huang Dongping of China but fell short, going down 11-21, 26-24, 9-21.

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


The Star
11 hours ago
- The Star
Possible permanent partnership of Fajar-Shohibul serves new threat to Malaysia
National men's doubles shuttlers Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik in action against Taiwan's Liu Kuang-heng-Yang Po-han in the second round match of Malaysian Masters at Axiata Arena, Bukit Jalil on Thursday. — IZZRAFIQ ALIAS/The Star PETALING JAYA: Indonesian men's doubles shuttlers Fajar Alfian-Shohibul Fikri are set to pose a threat to Malaysia after earning a shot at a permanent partnership. Fajar-Shohibul, who only combined last month, stunned several top pairs including Malaysia's world No. 2 Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik to win the China Open title last month. Their impressive form has persuaded Indonesia's men's doubles coach Antonius Budi Ariantho to combine them again after the Hong Kong Open next month. Before that, Fajar will compete with his usual partner Rian Ardianto in the World Championships from Aug 25-31 in Paris and the Hong Kong tourney from Sept 9-14. Meanwhile, Rian will be tried out with Yeremia Rambitan after the tournament in Hong Kong. Initially, Fajar was combined with Shohibul after the latter's usual partner Daniel Marthin underwent knee surgery and needed time to recover. Daniel can now only fully recover and return to action next year. "I'm experimenting with a few partnerships until Daniel is able to return to competitions in January next year," said Antonius in an interview posted in the Indonesian National Badminton Association (PBSI) website. "So, from September to December, I will observe the new partnerships and try to come up with the best permanent pairings. "I want to see if Fajar-Fikri can remain consistent in high level tournaments." The reshuffle is understandable as no Indonesian men's doubles pair had won a World Tour title this year until Fajar-Shohibul broke the duck in China. In contrast, Fajar has struggled to produce his best form with Rian this year. The world No. 4 duo's best result was finishing runners-up in the Indonesian Masters in January. Fajar-Rian will be hoping for better fortunes in the world meet where they will be joined by world No. 8 Sabar Gutama-Moh Reza and world No. 10 Leo Rolly-Bagas Maulana. Indonesia's last world champions in the men's doubles were Mohammad Ahsan-Hendra Setiawan, who captured the title in 2019 in Basel.

The Star
12 hours ago
- The Star
Su Yin battles fear and self-doubt ahead of debut in World C'ships
Malaysia mixed doubles shuttlers Hoo Pang Ron-Cheng Su Yin in action against Hong Kong's Hung Kuei-chun-Tsang Hiu-yan during the first round of Malaysian Masters at Axiata Arena in Bukit Jalil on Wednesday. — IZZRAFIQ ALIAS/The Star PETALING JAYA: Mixed doubles shuttler Cheng Su Yin has to shed her fears and self-doubt to regain her best form. Su Yin has struggled for form this year with Hoo Pang Ron and suffered a second-round defeat to eventual champions Mathias Christiansen-Alexandra Boje of Denmark in the Macau Open last week. Worryingly, it was the pair's ninth early round exit this year and they have only made it as far as the last eight twice in the Indonesian Masters and Orleans Masters. Pang Ron-Su Yin finished runners-up in the China Masters last November but have looked a shadow of their best selves this year. National doubles coaching director Rexy Mainaky said that the 22-year-old Su Yin is struggling with fear and self-doubt and needs to overcome these to get back to her best. "Pang Ron-Su Yin's problems started when they unexpectedly lost to a Taiwanese pair in the Malaysian Open first round in January," said Rexy. "They were leading but could not maintain their performance and lost. After that, Su Yin started doubting herself. "Last year, she played with a nothing-to-lose mentality as there were no expectations on her and Pang Ron. "She was fearless as it was a surprise whenever they won. This year, she has started to feel pressured and fears making mistakes. "She and Pang Ron have stagnated and she needs to change her way of thinking," added Rexy. Pang Ron-Su Yin don't have much time to work on their weaknesses with the World Championships coming up next for them from Aug 25-31 in Paris. The pair will be making their debuts together in the prestigious meet. The other Malaysia mixed doubles pairs that have qualified are world No. 4 Chen Tang Jie-Toh Ee Wei and world No. 6 Goh Soon Huat-Shevon Lai Jemie. For the record, Malaysia have only won a medal once in the mixed doubles in the world meet through Koo Kien Keat-Wong Pei Tty, who claimed bronze in the 2006 edition in Madrid. In the last edition in 2023 in Copenhagen, Tang Jie-Ee Wei, who reached the quarter-finals, were the country's best performers in the mixed doubles.


New Straits Times
12 hours ago
- New Straits Times
Pearly-Thinaah return to historic venue for world conquest
KUALA LUMPUR: Women's doubles Pearly Tan-M. Thinaah will return to a familiar battleground this month when they compete in the World Championships in Paris. The world No. 2 Malaysians will play at the Adidas Arena — formerly known as Arena Porte De La Chapelle — the same venue where they made Olympic history last year. Pearly-Thinaah reached the semi-finals of the 2024 Paris Olympics, becoming the first Malaysian pair to do so. Although they missed out on a bronze medal after losing to Japan's Nami Matsuyama-Chiharu Shida, former national high performance director Datuk James Selvaraj believes the experience gained there will greatly help Pearly-Thinaah when the French capital hosts the world meet. Pearly-Thinaah are on the right track for the Paris showpiece, reaching four World Tour events finals this year and winning the Thailand Open in May. "Playing at the venue where you made history can have a positive impact," said James. "They know what the place is like. It was there they reached the semi-finals of the Paris Olympics. "Now, they should try to enter the final. Whether they win or not, I don't mind, but at least they must try." James hopes to see great on-court communication and chemistry between the duo, urging Pearly-Thinaah to stay mentally strong. "They must learn to be confident. They must motivate themselves to play better. Only then can they advance to the final," he said. Pearly-Thinaah's previous best result at the World Championships was a quarter-final finish in 2023. Meanwhile former Olympic medallist Datuk Razif Sidek said Malaysia's best chance of winning a medal at the world meet will be in the doubles. "There's a chance for us to at least have one pair reach the final," said Razif. "We have three pairs in the top seven on the world rankings. If the draw is favourable, they must take advantage of it." Both James and Razif feel that the doubles players will have to carry Malaysia's challenge for medals in Paris due to uncertainty in the singles department, with the only real hope for a deep run being Lee Zii Jia. However, the independent shuttler has not played competitively since March due to an ankle injury.