PETALING JAYA: Former world champions Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik got off to a dream start in the World Tour Finals when they defeated He Jiting-Ren Xiangyu of China in Hangzhou, China.
They toiled for 63 minutes to beat the top seeds 17-21, 21-18, 21-15 in their first Group B match on Wednesday (Dec 11).
It was their second win against the pair in four meetings. They had recently lost to them in the China Masters and also the same tournament last year.
Aaron had mixed feeling about the win.
"We were not in our best form, and I suspect Ren was injured (in the third game). We just hung on there, but I hope he will get well soon," said Aaron.
Aaron-Wooi Yik will play Fajar Alfian-Rian Ardianto of Indonesia next. If they win, they will clear the group stage for the first time in fifth attempt in the Finals.
"The next match is important. We've not played against the Indonesians for some time, and they are getting better. We have to be consistent," said Aaron.
In the Group A match, Goh Sze Fei-Nur Izzuddin went down 18-21, 21-16, 14-21 to Kim Astrup-Anders Skaarup Rasmussen of Denmark in their opening encounter.
Sze Fei suffered cramps in the decider and it affected his game.
The Malaysian professionals will face Lee Jhe-huei-Yang Po-hsuan of Taiwan next, and should win the match.
