Staying alert: Soh Wooi Yik (front) and Aaron Chia in action during the men’s doubles final of the BAM Invitational Championships.
KUALA LUMPUR: World No. 9 Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik underlined their status as the country’s top men’s doubles pair in an emphatic fashion in the Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) Invitational Championships.
Aaron-Wooi Yik took only 23 minutes to tame independent shuttlers Ong Yew Sin-Teo Ee Yi 21-14, 21-18 in the final at the Academy Badminton Malaysia (ABM) in Bukit Kiara yesterday.
The win by Aaron-Wooi Yik avenged their earlier defeat to their former national teammates in the group stage on Friday and the latter was elated.
“We rectified our mistakes from the earlier defeat and made changes to our game plan. I think that made a difference in the final,” said Wooi Yik.
“We also performed better as we are slowly gaining back our competitive level after a long absence from tournaments.
“But I don’t think we’re anywhere close to our 100% just yet. You can never compare playing matches against compatriots to foreign competitors.
“And the fact that we’re competing behind closed doors doesn’t exactly give us the real feeling of playing in a regular tournament.”
In the mixed doubles, world No. 11 Tan Kian Meng-Lai Pei Jing upset 2016 Rio Olympic Games silver medallists Chan Peng Soon-Goh Liu Ying when they clawed back 16-20 in the second game to win 21-10, 22-20.
It marked Kian Meng-Pei Jing’s third successive win over Peng Soon-Liu Ying having beaten them in the French Open last year and during the group stage of the championship on Thursday.
“We were still confident that we could close the gap after they led by a big margin,” said Pei Jing.
“At 14-17, I told Kian Meng that we should not give up and should stick to our game plan.
Peng Soon said Kian Meng-Pei Jing were the deserving winners of the day because “they showed more hunger”.
“We made many unforced errors. They wanted to beat us badly. That’s a good and exemplary attitude. And given their age and injury-free condition, they surely had the edge over us.”
The women’s singles title went to Soniia Cheah who staved off a spirited challenge from Eoon Qi Xuan to win 21-16, 25-23.
“I was lucky to win it in straight games. I injured my ankle a bit during yesterday’s training,” said Soniia.
Aaron-Wooi Yik took only 23 minutes to tame independent shuttlers Ong Yew Sin-Teo Ee Yi 21-14, 21-18 in the final at the Academy Badminton Malaysia (ABM) in Bukit Kiara yesterday.
The win by Aaron-Wooi Yik avenged their earlier defeat to their former national teammates in the group stage on Friday and the latter was elated.
“We rectified our mistakes from the earlier defeat and made changes to our game plan. I think that made a difference in the final,” said Wooi Yik.
“We also performed better as we are slowly gaining back our competitive level after a long absence from tournaments.
“But I don’t think we’re anywhere close to our 100% just yet. You can never compare playing matches against compatriots to foreign competitors.
“And the fact that we’re competing behind closed doors doesn’t exactly give us the real feeling of playing in a regular tournament.”
In the mixed doubles, world No. 11 Tan Kian Meng-Lai Pei Jing upset 2016 Rio Olympic Games silver medallists Chan Peng Soon-Goh Liu Ying when they clawed back 16-20 in the second game to win 21-10, 22-20.
It marked Kian Meng-Pei Jing’s third successive win over Peng Soon-Liu Ying having beaten them in the French Open last year and during the group stage of the championship on Thursday.
“We were still confident that we could close the gap after they led by a big margin,” said Pei Jing.
“At 14-17, I told Kian Meng that we should not give up and should stick to our game plan.
Peng Soon said Kian Meng-Pei Jing were the deserving winners of the day because “they showed more hunger”.
“We made many unforced errors. They wanted to beat us badly. That’s a good and exemplary attitude. And given their age and injury-free condition, they surely had the edge over us.”
The women’s singles title went to Soniia Cheah who staved off a spirited challenge from Eoon Qi Xuan to win 21-16, 25-23.
“I was lucky to win it in straight games. I injured my ankle a bit during yesterday’s training,” said Soniia.
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