PETALING JAYA: It was a day of double joy for Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik yesterday.
Aaron-Wooi Yik bagged the Olympian of the Year award for winning their second bronze medal at the Paris Olympic Games in August and they also won their first group match in the World Tour Finals in Hangzhou, China.
Aaron-Wooi Yik were deservingly named as the Olympian of the Year for 2024 in a glittering Olympic Council of Malaysia (OCM) Awards Night yesterday.
The ceremony was making a return after it was last held in 2019.
Buoyed by the recognition, Aaron-Wooi Yik stepped up their game and got off to a superb start in the Finals by disposing of home stars He Jiting-Ren Xiangyu in their opening Group B match.
Aaron-Wooi Yik clawed back from a game down to beat the top Chinese pair 17-21, 21-18, 21-15 in a 63-minute battle yesterday.
The Malaysians took advantage of Xiangyu’s back injury in the deciding game to clear their first group match.
It was their second win against the Chinese pair in four meetings. They had recently lost to them in the China Masters and also the same tournament last year.
Dangerous duo: Indonesia's Fajar Alfian-Rian Ardianto will be Aaron-Wooi Yik's next opponents.
Coach Tan Bin Shen was proud of the duo.
“It’s a good day for Aaron-Wooi Yik. They won the award and also won their first match in the Finals. At the last edition, they did not win any of their group matches,” said Bin Shen.
“Hope this good start and recognition will fire them to keep their momentum going here.”
Aaron had mixed feelings after the dream start though.
“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. The Malaysians are playing in their fifth Finals and are hoping to clear the group stage for the first time.
“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.
They have a 4-4 record against Fajar-Rian and their last defeat to the Indonesians was the All-England final in March this year.
Yesterday, Fajar-Rian defeated teammates Sabar Karyaman-Moh Reza 28-26, 21-18 in another Group B match.
