Back in the swing

The Star

11 hours ago

Party time: Indonesia's Fajar Alfian (right) and Shohibul Fikri dancing in celebration after winning the China Open men's doubles final against Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik in Changzhou. — AFP
PETALING JAYA: Men's doubles coach Herry Iman Pierngadi believes shuttlers Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik are slowly regaining their best form heading into the World Championships from Aug 25-31 in Paris.
Expectations were high on world No. 2 Aaron-Wooi Yik to continue their impressive run in the Japan Open in Tokyo last week but the pair suffered a shock first-round defeat at the hands of fellow Malaysians Ong Yew Sin-Teo Ee Yi.
It was the duo's second first-round exit after suffering the same fate in the Indonesian Open in Jakarta in June.
While the slip in Indonesia was due to the pair's exhausting run which included three back-to-back finals where they captured the Thailand Open and Singapore Open titles and finished runners-up in the Malaysian Masters, the capitulation in Japan was more worrying.
Aaron-Wooi Yik, though, proved that it was only a blip when they roared back to reach the final in China.
Although the duo could not crown their great run with the title after losing 15-21, 14-21 to Indonesia's scratch pair Fajar Alfian-Shohibul Fikri in Changzhou on Sunday, Herry is happy with his charges for bouncing back after the disappointment in Japan.
'Although they lost in the final, Aaron-Wooi Yik are getting back to their best,' said Herry.
'In the final, they lost due to Fajar-Shohibul's strategy which was spot on. The opponents controlled the net and put a lot of pressure on Aaron-Wooi Yik.
'They made it difficult for our pair to play like they did in the semi-final (against India's Satwiksairaj Rankireddy-Chirag Shetty). Our game plan simply didn't work this time.
'Overall, it's still a positive outing for us ahead of the World Championships,' added Herry.
Herry is next looking to sharpen Aaron-Wooi Yik's game further in his bid to guide them to glory in the world meet.
The pair remain Malaysia's best bet for gold in Paris.
Aaron-Wooi Yik created history in 2022 by becoming the first Malaysians to capture the world title in badminton.
The duo won bronze a year later in 2023 after they were denied in the last four by South Korea's Seo Seung-jae-Kang Min-hyuk, who went on to win gold.
The competition was not held last year due to the Paris Olympics where Aaron-Wooi Yik came away with the bronze.
Another fine outing in Paris in the world meet this time is not beyond reach for Aaron-Wooi Yik, especially under Herry, who has transformed them into multiple title winners.
The pair claimed gold in the Asian Championships for the first time in April to go with their title triumphs in Thailand and Singapore and are hungry to add another world crown to their collection.