A stretch too far: Soh Wooi Yik tries to retrieve a shot as Aaron Chia looks on during their semi-final match against against Indonesia’s Leo Rolly-Daniel Marthin. — IZZRAFIQ ALIAS/The Star
NATIONAL men’s doubles pair Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik were left to rue their lack of patience after bowing out in the quarter-finals of the Malaysian Masters.
The world No. 2 fought hard but could not prevent Indonesia’s world No. 9 Leo Rolly-Daniel Marthin from winning 21-18, 21-19 in the quarter-finals at the Axiata Arena in Bukit Jalil on Friday.
Aaron-Wooi Yik had the advantage when it comes to the head-to-head record as they have beaten the Indonesian pair five times and only lost once in the first round of the All-England in March.
They survived the pulsating rubber match to triumph over Leo-Daniel in the first round of the Badminton Asia Championships last month but could not repeat their superb performance in the home tourney.
Wooi Yik said they tried to control the rhythm of the game but their opponents were more well-prepared.
“Maybe we’re not patient enough because the shuttle was quite slow,” said Wooi Yik.
“Aaron and I tried to change our rhythm but they played better, so we tried to hang in there and give our best in the match.
“Even though we won in Dubai, it was an intense fight.
“Our chances of winning are always 50-50 and it depends on which pair is calmer because our game play is very similar to theirs.
“It’s just that they were probably better prepared than we were.”
Aaron-Wooi Yik were in their element when they outplayed another Indonesian pair Pramudya Kusumawardana 21-18, 10-21, 23-21 to clear their first hurdle on Tuesday.
They secured a 21-19, 21-14 win over Choi Sol-gyu-Kim Won-ho of South Korea in the second round on Thursday to set up a meeting with Leo-Daniel in the quarter-finals.
Besides finishing runners-up in the Indian Open in January, Aaron-Wooi Yik have yet to reach the semi-finals in any of the seven tournaments they have competed in this year.
Their best results before the Malaysian Masters was the Indonesian Masters in January where they reached the quarter-finals before losing to China’s He Ji-ting-Zhou Hao-dong 17-21, 10-21.
Aaron-Wooi Yik will skip the Thailand Open in Bangkok from May 30-June 4 before turning their attention to the Singapore Open from June 6-11.
