PETALING JAYA: Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik proved once again that they are made for the big stage after securing at least a bronze medal by reaching the World Championships semi-finals in New Delhi yesterday.
Reunited for the world meet just two months after being split up, Aaron-Wooi Yik showed they still have plenty to offer as a pair after moving forward with a comfortable 21-11, 21-17 win over China’s world No. 26 Hu Keyuan-Lin Xiangyi at the Indira Gandhi Stadium.
The victory also erased the disappointment of last year’s edition in Paris, where they fell to India’s Satwiksairaj Rankireddy-Chirag Shetty at the same stage.
Aaron-Wooi Yik, however, are not getting carried away by their run to the semi-finals as they believe there is still work to be done.
“To be honest, it’s nothing too special for us. We have played in the World Championships five or six times already,” said Aaron in a post-match interview with the Badminton World Federation (BWF).
Aaron-Wooi Yik famously became Malaysia’s first badminton world champions when they won the title in Tokyo in 2022.
A year later in Copenhagen, they were unable to retain the title but still returned home with a bronze medal.
They are also two-time Olympic bronze medallists, having finished third at the Tokyo 2020 and Paris 2024 Games.
Aaron-Wooi Yik will face defending champions Kim Won-ho-Seo Seung-jae in the semi-finals today after the world No. 1 pair eliminated fellow Malaysians Goh Sze Fei-Nur Izzuddin Rumsani 16-21, 16-21 in the quarter-finals.
The Koreans have already beaten Aaron-Wooi Yik twice this year, first in the Malaysian Open final in January and again in the All-England final two months later.
With that record in mind, Wooi Yik is happy for the Malaysians to head into the semi-finals as the underdogs, with the pressure firmly on the Korean pair.
“I would say we have nothing to lose,” said Wooi Yik.
“We were separated for one or two months and the other pairs have been playing well.
“So we came here wanting to play as the underdogs and fight against them. That’s our mindset.”
QUARTER-FINALS
Men’s singles: Victor Lai (Can) bt Rasmus Gemke (Den) 21-19, 21-18; Alex Lanier (Fra) bt Kunlavut Vitidsarn (Tha) 19-21, 21-16, 21-16; Kodai Naraoka (Jpn) bt Anders Antonsen (Den) 21-19, 21-15.
Men’s doubles: Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik (Mas) bt Hu Keyuan-Lin Xiangyi (Chn) 21-11, 21-17; Kim Won-ho-Seo Seung-jae (Kor) bt Goh Sze Fei-Nur Izzuddin Rumsani (Mas) 21-16, 21-16; Liang Weikeng-Wang Chang (Chn) bt Satwiksairaj Rankireddy-Chirag Shetty (Ind) 21-18, 21-9.
Women’s singles: Pornpawee Chochuwong (Tha) bt Nozomi Okuhara (Jpn) w.o.; An Se-young (Kor) bt Han Yue (Chn) 21-19, 21-12; Akane Yamaguchi (Jpn) bt Michelle Li (Can) 21-17, 21-10; Wang Zhiyi (Chn) bt Line Christophersen (Den) 21-10, 21-7.
Women’s doubles: Baek Ha-na-Lee So-hee (Kor) bt Febriana Dwipuji-Meilysa Trias (Ina) 21-11, 21-11; Treesa Jolly-Gayatri Gopichand (Ind) bt Jia Yifan-Zhang Shuxian (Chn) 16-21, 21-15, 21-13; Li Yijing-Luo Xumin (Chn) bt Rachel Allessya-Febi Setianingrum (Ina) 21-13, 21-14; Liu Shengshu-Tan Ning (Chn) bt Yeung Nga Ting-Yeung Pui Lam (Hkg) 21-14, 21-17.
Mixed doubles: Thom Gicquel-Delphine Delrue (Fra) bt Dechapol Puavaranukroh-Supissara Paewsampran (Tha) w.o.; Amri Syahnawi-Nita Violina Marwah (Ina) bt Yang Po-hsuan-Hu Ling-fang (Tpe) 21-18, 21-9; Feng Yanzhe-Huang Dongping (Chn) bt Cheng Xing-Zhang Chi (Chn) 18-21, 21-10, 21-15; Jiang Zhenbang-Wei Yaxin (Chn) bt Guo Xinwa-Chen Fanghui (Chn) 21-13, 21-17.
THIRD ROUND
Men’s singles: Alex Lanier (Fra) bt Angus Ng Ka Long (Hkg) 21-17, 21-12; Anders Antonsen (Den) bt Toma Junior Popov (Fra) 21-17, 17-21, 21-14.
Men’s doubles: Satwiksairaj Rankireddy-Chirag Shetty (Ind) bt Wan Arif Wan Junaidi-Yap Roy King (Mas) 21-23, 19-21, 17-21; Liang Weikeng-Wang Chang (Chn) bt Kim Astrup-Anders Skaarup Rasmussen (Den) 22-20, 8-21, 21-19; Fajar Alfian-Shohibul Fikri (Ina) bt Kang Min-hyuk-Ki Dong-ju (Kor) 21-15, 14-21, 21-12; Hu Keyuan-Lin Xiangyi (Chn) bt Daniel Lundgaard-Mads Vestergaard (Den) 21-14, 16-21, 21-16.
Women’s singles: Wang Zhiyi (Chn) bt P. V. Sindhu (Ind) 21-11, 15-21, 21-17; Line Christophersen (Den) bt Putri Kusuma (Ina) 21-18, 21-17.
