MALAYSIA’S men’s double pair Aaron Chia and Soh Wooi Yik were staring at defeat. After losing the first game, they were down 16-20 in the second.
It was a hopeless situation – but not if you are Aaron-Wook Yik. They staged one of the greatest fightbacks ever to win the bronze again in the Paris Olympics – and what a nail-biting comeback it was.
They looked dead and buried against Denmark’s Kim Astrup-Anders Skaarup Rasmussen in the bronze medal playoff match when the Danes held match points in the second game but the 2021 Tokyo Games bronze medallists just refused to give up.
The world No. 3 fought back to win six straight points to snatch the game 22-20 to keep their hopes alive and stayed calm to force the match into the third game. And what a fight it was in the rubber, which swung to both sides, before the Malaysians finally won 21-19 at Adidas Arena in Port de la Chapelle yesterday.
It was an impressive comeback win and sweet revenge for Aaron-Wooi Yik, who lost to Astrup-Rasmussen in their last encounter in the Singapore Open in June.
Their victory also have Malaysia their first medal in the Paris Olympics. Aaron-Wooi Yik are also the first doubles pair in the country to win two medals in the Olympics.
The pair showed great fighting spirit and determination to recover after suffering a heartbreaking 19-21, 21-15, 17-21 defeat at the hands of China’s world No. 1 Liang Weikeng-Wang Chang in the semi-final.
