PETALING JAYA: Men’s doubles shuttlers Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik have signalled their intention to retain their Singapore Open title but will not let the pressure get to them.
World No. 2 Aaron-Wooi Yik cruised their way into the second round in Singapore after defeating French brothers Christo Popov-Toma Junior Popov 21-17, 21-15 yesterday.
Aaron-Wooi Yik won their second Super 750 title last year in Singapore after defeating reigning world champions Kim Won-ho-Seo Seung-jae of South Korea. It was their second Super 750 win after winning the Denmark Open in 2023.
While charging for their third, Aaron insisted the pair are not overthinking their progress as they are focused on bigger goals this year.
“We are taking it step by step and not overthinking it. We are more focused on major tournaments,” said Aaron.
“We will do our best when it comes to World Tour events. If we can win, we definitely will, but we won’t let it pressure us too much.”
Aaron-Wooi Yik saw their campaign last week at the Malaysian Masters end in the semi-finals to compatriots Goh Sze Fei-Nur Izzuddin, but head coach Herry Iman Pierngadi stressed that their targets remain the World Championships in New Delhi in August and the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games in September.
With windy conditions inside the Singapore Indoor Stadium a regular challenge for the players, Aaron added that staying patient is vital.
“The wind here is strong, almost the same as it is back home. But we are quite used to it here,” said Aaron.
“We need to play with more patience. If we’re not calm and become doubtful on court, it’s very easy to make mistakes.”
Aaron-Wooi Yik will face either England’s Ben Lane-Sean Vendy or Japan’s Kakeru Kumagai-Hiroki Nishi in the second round today.
Meanwhile, rising pair Aaron Tai-Kang Khai Xing booked their spot in the second round after taking down veteran pair Tan Wee Kiong-Nur Azriyn Ayub 21-15, 21-17 on Tuesday.
World No. 27 Aaron-Khai Xing face a tough task of getting past sixth seed Indonesians Sabar Gutama-Moh Reza for a spot in the quarter-finals.
