Smashing Aaron-Wooi Yik beat South Korean juggernauts to win Singapore Open
Sheer joy: National men's doubles shuttlers Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik celebrate after winning. — IZZRAFIQ ALIAS/The Star
PETALING JAYA: Men's doubles shuttlers Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik showed fire in the belly to recover from a game down to lift the Singapore Open title in style.
The former world champions fought tooth and nail to beat Kim Won-ho-Seo Seung-jae of South Korea 15-21, 21-18, 21-19 in a fast-paced 65-minute final match to mark an incredible turnaround in their careers this year.
There was fear that Aaron may fall apart when the umpire faulted his service twice in the early part of the game but he was not rattled. In fact, he combined superbly with Wooi Yik to launch a series of smashes and smart play to outfox their equally strong opponents.
The Singapore Open is their third title this season after winning the Asian Championships in April and Thailand Open last month. Last week, they came close to winning the Malaysian Masters but lost to younger teammates Man Wei Chong-Tee Kai Wun in the final.
It was also a sweet revenge for the world No. 3 Aaron-Wooi Yik, who train under Herry Iman Pierngadi, after losing to the Korean pair in the semi-finals of the Indian Open in January.
Seung-jae, who won the world title with Kang Min-hyuk in 2023, had been in fine form too with his new partner Won-ho but they found it diffcult this time to unsettle the Malaysians, who were solid in the second and third game.
The Koreans had captured the Malaysian Open, German Open and All-England this year.
Aaron-Wooi Yik will compete at the Indonesian Open in Jakarta next week.
RESULTS
Men's singles: Kunlavut Vitidsarn (Tha) bt Lu Guangzu (Chn) 21-6, 21-10.
Men's doubles: Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik (Mas) bt Kim Won-ho-Seo Seung-jae (Kor) 15-21, 21-18, 21-19.
Women's singles: Chen Yufei (Chn) bt Wang Zhiyi (Chn) 21-11, 21-11.
Women's doubles: Kim Hye-jeong-Kong Hee-yong (Kor) bt Rin Iwanaga-Kie Nakanishi (Jpn) 21-16, 21-14.
Mixed doubles: Dechapol Puavaranukroh-Supissara Paewsampran (Tha) bt Tang Chun Man-Tse Ying Suet (Hkg) 21-16, 21-9.
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