Staying solid: National men’s doubles shuttlers Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik in action against Taiwan’s Chiu Hsiang-chieh-Wang Chi-lin in the first round of the Malaysian Masters at Axiata Arena, Bukit Jalil. — IZZRAFIQ ALIAS/The Star
PETALING JAYA: Reigning Thailand Open winners Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik overcame fatigue to reach the second round as the men's doubles department enjoyed a good day in the Malaysian Masters.
Despite admitting they were feeling the effects of a packed schedule, the duo put on a solid performance to defeat Taiwan’s Chiu Hsiang-chieh and Wang Chi-lin 21-19, 21-15 in the first round match at the Axiata Arena on May 21 (Wednesday).
"We’re doing okay considering we just came off a tournament last week. Although we didn’t have much rest, it’s not a major issue for us," said Aaron.
"Our focus now is on strategy, and thankfully everything is falling into place."
However, they anticipate a tougher challenge in today’s second round against another Taiwanese pair, Liu Kuang-heng-Yang Po-han.
Aaron-Wooi Yik acknowledged the difficulty of preparing for opponents they have never faced before, with no prior data or experience to draw on.
This situation is reminiscent of their close shave in the first round of the Thailand Open, where they narrowly escaped an upset against French duo Julien Maio-William Villeger.
"We have to be realistic, it won’t be easy. Like in Thailand, we had never played the French pair before, so preparation is key," said Wooi Yik.
"All the men’s doubles pairs are very strong right now. The most important thing is to trust our coach and learn from him. We still have a long journey ahead, so we’re taking it step by step."
Also advancing to the second round are Aaron Tai-Kang Khai Xing, Choong Hon Jian-Mohd Haikal Nazri, Man Wei Chong-Tee Kai Wun, Goh Sze Fei-Nur Izzuddin Rumsani and Low Hang Yee-Ng Eng Cheong.
Aaron-Khai Xing, who fought back to defeat the rising Danish duo William Kryger Boe-Christian Faust Kjaer 12-21, 21-11, 21-17. They will face another strong Danish pair, Rasmus Kjaer-Frederik Sogaard.
Hon Jian-Haikal, fresh off a 21-15, 21-18 victory over Kittinupong Kedren-Dechapol Puavaranukroh, are set to take on former world champions Takuro Hoki-Yugo Kobayashi of Japan.
Meanwhile, fifth seeds Man Wei Chong-Tee Kai Wun secured a hard-fought 21-15, 23-21 win against Pruthvi Krishnamurthy Joy-Sai Pratheek of India, setting up a clash with Hiroki Midorikawa-Kyohei Yamashita of Japan today.
Second seeds Goh Sze Fei-Nur Izzuddin Rumsani, who overcame France’s Eloi Adam and Leo Rossi in the first round, will go up against Taiwan’s Chen Zhi-ray-Lin Yu-chieh.
Low Hang Yee-Ng Eng Cheong, following their convincing 21-14, 21-16 victory over Chiang Chien-wei and Wu Hsuan-yi, face a daunting challenge against top seeds Kim Astrup and Anders Skaarup Rasmussen in today’s second round.
