Stating alert: Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik in action against Taiwan's Liu Kuang-heng-Yang Po-han during the second-round match. — IZZRAFIQ ALIAS/The Star
PETALING JAYA: Chasing titles is far more important than becoming the world No. 1 pair, according to Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik.
While the duo aim to reach the top of the world rankings, they believe winning titles is more important than chasing ranking points.
The duo are in excellent form after clinching the Asian Championships last month and capturing the Thailand Open last week.
“Of course, we’re always looking to improve, but our world ranking only gives us a slight edge, it doesn’t play a major role in our performance as a men’s doubles pair. Our main focus is on our game. If we perform well, the rankings will take care of themselves,” said Aaron.
“We’ve been up there before, even reaching world No. 2. The only position we haven’t achieved is No. 1. While it would be nice to maintain a high ranking, it’s not our main priority.
“If given a choice, I’d say titles matter more. The ranking is just a number to us. Titles are more meaningful, not that rankings aren’t important, but winning titles is really what we’re aiming for,” said Aaron.
Aaron-Wooi Yik previously reached a career-high of world No. 2, a position they held for five months from January to May last year, before slipping down the rankings earlier this year.
Currently sitting third in the world with 83,170 points, a deep run at the Malaysian Masters could boost their chances of climbing higher.
Denmark’s Kim Astrup-Anders Skaarup Rasmussen lead the standings with 93,191 points, followed by fellow Malaysians Goh Sze Fei-Nur Izzuddin Rumsani with 91,090 points.
Aaron-Wooi Yik had endured a long title drought on the BWF World Tour before finally breaking the jinx at the Denmark Open in 2023.
They followed that breakthrough with another triumph at the Korea Masters later that year, and added a third to their collection with last week’s win at the Thailand Open.
Now, they’re aiming to keep the momentum going on home soil at the Malaysian Masters. The duo booked their spot in the quarter-finals after a convincing 21-13, 21-16 win over Taiwan’s Liu Kuang-heng-Yang Po-han in the second round yesterday.
In today’s quarter-final, they will face Danish pair Rasmus Kjaer-Frederik Sogaard, who defeated Malaysia’s Aaron Tai-Kang Khai Xing 10-21, 26-24, 16-21 in a highly controversial match.
SECOND ROUND RESULTS
(Malaysians unless stated)
Men’s singles: Christo Popov (Fra) bt K. Satish Kumar (Ind) 21-14, 21-16; Yushi Tanaka (Jpn) bt H. S. Prannoy (Ind) 21-9, 21-18; K. Srikanth bt Nhat Nguyen (Irl) 23-21, 21-17; Weng Hongyang (Chn) bt Alwi Farhan (Ina) 19-21, 21-16, 21-17; Kodai Naraoka (Jpn) bt Chico Aura (Ina) 21-11, 21-16; Li Shifeng (Chn) bt Jason Teh (Sin) 21-10, 21-17.
Men’s doubles: Goh Sze Fei-Nur Izzuddin Rumsani bt Chen Zhi-ray-Lin Yu-chieh (Tpe) 21-19, 21-13; Man Wei Chong-Tee Kai Wun bt Hiroki Midorikawa-Kyohei Yamashita (Jpn) 21-17, 21-13; Kim Astrup-Anders Skaarup Rasmussen (Den) bt Low Hang Yee-Ng Eng Cheong 21-9, 21-12; Liang Weikeng-Wang Chang (Chn) bt Christo Popov-Toma Junior Popov (Fra) 21-17, 21-15; Takuro Hoki-Yugo Kobayashi (Jpn) bt Mohd Haikal Nazri-Choong Hon Jian 21-14, 21-13; Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik bt Liu Kuang-heng-Yang Po-han (Tpe) 21-13, 21-16; Rasmus Kjaer-Frederik Sogaard (Den) bt Kang Khai Xing-Aaron Tai 21-10, 24-26, 21-16.
Women’s singles: Wang Zhiyi (Chn) bt Han Qianxi (Chn) 21-8, 21-17; Ratchanok Intanon (Tha) bt Hung Yi-ting (Tpe) 21-14, 21-12; Michelle Li (Can) bt Line Kjaersfeldt (Den) 20-22, 21-15, 21-11; Akane Yamaguchi (Jpn) bt Nozomi Okuhara (Jpn) 18-21, 26-24, 21-3; Han Yue (Chn) bt Chiu Pin-chian (Tpe) 21-9, 21-11.
Women’s doubles: Liu Shengshu-Tan Ning (Chn) bt Tidapron Kleebyeesun-Nattamon Laisuan (Tha) 21-13, 21-8; Febriana Dwipuji-Amallia Cahaya (Ind) bt Chen Yan-fei-Sun Liang-ching (Tpe) 21-13, 21-13; Jia Yifan-Zhang Shuxian (Chn) bt Go Pei Kee-Teoh Mei Xing 21-6, 21-13; Pearly Tan-M. Thinaah bt Pichamon Phatcharaphisutsin-Nannapas Sukklad (Tha) 21-13, 21-15; Siti Fadia Ramadhanti-Lanny Tria (Ina) bt Nami Matsuyama-Chiharu Shida (Jpn) 19-21, 21-19, 21-15.
Mixed doubles: Jiang Zhenbang-Wei Yaxin (Chn) bt Ratchapol Makkasasithorn-Nattamon Laisuan (Tha) 21-12, 21-17; Ye Hong-wei-Nicole Chan (Tpe) bt Loo Bing Kun-Toh Ee Wei 19-21, 22-20, 21-18; Dechapol Puavaranukroh-Supissara Paewsampran (Tha) bt Wong Tien Ci-Lim Chiew Sien 21-14, 21-9; Feng Yanzhe-Huang Dongping (Chn) bt Amri Syahnawi-Nita Violina (Ina) 19-21, 21-11, 21-11.
