PETALING JAYA: Aaron Tai-Kang Khai Xing have ended Malaysia’s 13-year wait to clinch the boy’s doubles gold medal at the World Junior Championships.
The top seed Malaysians fought through a tough battle with second seeds Hu Keyuan-Lin Xiangyi of China to win 21-18, 15-21, 21-18 in Nanchang, China on Sunday (Oct 13).
The last Malaysian boy’s doubles pair to win the title was Nelson Heng-Teo Ee Yi during the 2011 edition.
The win for Aaron-Khai Xing now makes it three wins out of four encounters for the Malaysians, having only lost the previous encounter at the Asian Junior Championships in July to Keyuan-Xiangyi.
Meanwhile, girl’s doubles pair Dania Sofea Zaidi-Low Zi Yu settled for the silver medal after losing 17-21, 17-21 to fourth seeds Ririna Hiramoto-Aya Tamaki of Japan in the final.
The unseeded Malaysians had a stellar run in the tournament after toppling Chinese top seeds Chen Fan Shutian-Liu Jia Yue to book their spots in the final on Saturday, making them the first Malaysians in the final of the tournament since Pearly Tan-Toh Ee Wei win silver in the 2018 edition.
