PETALING JAYA: Malaysia’s men’s doubles pairs are now just two steps away from ending a 19-year-wait for the All-England title, with this time aided by a favourable draw and the large Malaysian presence in the competition.
Malaysia fielded eight men’s doubles pairs in this year’s All-England, the highest number of entries, followed by Indonesia with four representatives.
Other traditional powerhouses such as China and South Korea only had two pairs each in the tournament.
Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik advanced to the quarter-finals after defeating compatriots Wan Arif Wan Junaidi-Yap Roy King 21-15, 18-21, 21-18 and will face Man Wei Chong-Tee Kai Wun next.
Wei Chong-Kai Wun reached the quarter-finals after beating Taiwan’s Chiu Hsiang-chieh-Wang Chi-lin 21-14, 21-18.
Whatever the outcome, Malaysia are already assured of a place in the semi-finals, which shows how important it is to have more pairs ranked inside the world’s top 32 in order to qualify for prestigious tournaments like the All-England.
Said Wei Chong: “Last three editions, we always lost in the first round, plus now I’m still carrying some injury, so we played with no pressure and tried our best.
“We are enjoying the tournament. This is the most historic badminton tournament and we want to perform well and get a good result.”
This is also the first time Wei Chong-Kai Wun have reached the quarter-finals after three attempts, with their previous appearances in 2022, 2024 and last year ending in the first round.
The challenge however is over for world junior champions Aaron Tai-Khang Khai Xing and Goh Sze Fei-Nur Izzuddin Rumsani.
“We already did our best, but we also made a lot of unforced errors,” said Khai Xing after losing 19-21, 17-21 to China’s Chen Boyang-Liu Yi.
Sze Fei-Izzuddin lost 21-23, 16-21 to Rian Ardianto-Rahmat Hidayat of Indonesia.
Last year, Malaysia also had a large representation with six pairs, but all of them exited early, with Sze Fei-Izzuddin going the furthest, and even then only reaching the second round.
Malaysia last won the title through Koo Kien Keat-Tan Boon Heong at the 2007 edition.
