Fine form: Malaysia’s Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik continue to make their mark in the Asian Championships. — IZZRAFIQ ALIAS/The Star
PETALING JAYA: Men’s doubles pair Aaron Chia-Soh Wooik Yik and Goh Sze Fei-Nur Izzuddin Rumsani have certainly justified their inclusion in the Thomas Cup Finals squad.
On Friday, former world champions Aaron-Wooi Yik made short work of one of their biggest rivals - China’s Liu Yuchen-Ou Xuanyi - to march into the semi-finals of the Asian Championships.
They will play Sze Fei-Izzuddin on Saturday and if they win, they will enter their second final in the Asian meet. Aaron-Wooi Yik had also reached the final in 2022.
The world No. 5 Aaron-Wooi Yik took down the Chinese pair 21-14, 21-15 at the Ningbo Olympic Sports Centre. It was their eighth meeting against the world No. 8 pair, and the win for the Malaysians made it all even between them with four wins each.
World No. 19 Sze Fei-Izzuddin, also strongly motivated with their selection for the Finals, gave another rousing performance to dump Taiwan’s Olympic champions Lee Yang-Wang Chi-lin 19-21, 21-19, 21-19.
This was the fourth time Sze Fei-Izzuddin met the Taiwanese, and have now evened the head-to-head score to two wins each.
The duo had upset reigning world champions Kang Min-hyuk-Seo Seung-jae of South Korea in the first round.
The Thomas Cup Finals will be held in Chengdu, China, from April 27-May 5.
