Aaron-Wooi Yik break jinx to reach Singapore Open quarter-finals
PETALING JAYA: Top men's doubles pair Aaron Chia and Soh Wooi Yik finally overcame their jinx against Japan's Takuro Hoki and Yugo Kobayashi, defeating them in the Singapore Open's second round on Thursday (May 29).
Playing at the Singapore Indoor Stadium, Aaron-Wooi Yik made a strong start by taking the opening game.
Hoki-Kobayashi managed to push the match into a decider, but Aaron-Wooi Yik were determined not to endure another heartbreak like their previous Sudirman Cup clash.
The Malaysians held their nerve to secure a 21-18, 24-26, 21-12 win and book their place in the quarter-finals.
At first glance, it may have looked like just another match, but for Aaron-Wooi Yik, it was a psychological barrier they finally broke, as their Japanese rivals had won nine of their previous 11 meetings.
The last time the Malaysians defeated the former world champions was at the 2021 Sudirman Cup in Vantaa, Finland.
"Of course, while we were playing, there were flashbacks to our last match against them in the Sudirman Cup. In the second set, we had several match points but couldn't convert them."
"Fortunately, in the third set, our coach, Herry IP (Iman Pierngadi), gave us a lot of motivation to lift our spirits."
"He reminded us to forget about the past and focus on playing point by point," said Aaron in a post-match interview with BWF.
Aaron-Wooi Yik will face compatriots Man Wei Chong and Tee Kai Wun in the quarter-finals on Friday.
It will be a rematch of last week's Malaysian Masters final, which went in favour of Wei Chong-Kai Wun.
Meanwhile, women's doubles pair Pearly Tan and M. Thinaah were also in fine form as they booked their place in the quarter-finals after defeating Japan's Yuki Fukushima and Mayu Matsumoto.
However, it was far from an easy win for Pearly Tan and M. Thinaah, who had to dig deep for 48 minutes before prevailing 25-23, 21-18.
They will now wait for the outcome of the match between China's Jia Yifan-Zhang Shuxian and India's Treesa Jolly-Gayatri Gopichand Pullela to find out their quarter-final opponents.
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