Good planning: Soh Wooi Yik (left) and Aaron Chia prepared well for the final at the Thailand Open. — AFP
PETALING JAYA: It was a proud victory for Malaysia’s top men’s doubles pair, Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik, as they captured the Thailand Open title yesterday. However, there’s little time for celebration as they face another important mission this week at the Malaysian Masters.
Second seeds Aaron-Wooi Yik showed their grit and experience by rallying to overcome Denmark’s fast-rising duo William Kryger Boe-Christian Faust Kjær 20-22, 21-17, 21-12 in a 60-minute final.
Despite the Danes being ranked only 75th in the world, they were anything but easy opponents. They had impressed throughout the tournament and even shocked top seeds Fajar Alfian-Rian Ardianto in the semi-finals.
Wooi Yik admitted that as an unseeded pair, the Danes had nothing to lose and came into the final playing freely unlike him and Aaron, who had the pressure of being favourites.
Still, the Malaysians were relieved to come through, especially with the added motivation of proving themselves under new coach Herry Iman Pierngadi, who has been guiding them since February.
“Actually, I really feel for them because we were also a young pair once. They’re a very good pair with strong attacking and defensive play. Their game is very varied, and we respect that. So we were well prepared for this final.
“We knew it would be a tough battle against them because they had a great run to reach the final. And of course, we wanted to show our new coach how capable we are and the level we’re at and today, we did it. Hopefully next time, we can do even better,” said Wooi Yik.
Their victory also ended Malaysia’s 16-year wait for a men’s doubles title at this tournament. The last to triumph were Chan Peng Soon-Lim Khim Wah in 2009.
For Aaron, the title was a satisfying conclusion to a campaign that began on shaky ground. They were nearly knocked out in the opening round by France’s Julien Maio-William Villeger, but fought back to win 22-24, 21-19, 21-15.
“For sure, after the first day, it was not our best performance, but we gradually got better and now we have won the title here in Thailand, so of course we are happy about it.
“And yes, I think we have to always remember that today we are the champions, but tomorrow we are not anymore. So we have to start all over again next week at the Malaysian Masters,” said Aaron.
Aaron-Wooi Yik will open their Malaysian Masters campaign against Taiwan’s Chiu Hsiang-chieh-Wang Chi-lin in the first round.
