PETALING JAYA: Thursday’s (Oct 15) all-Malaysian clash between Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik and Aaron Tai-Yap Roy King in the second round of the Denmark Open carries more than just a place in the quarter-finals.
For senior pair Chia-Wooi Yik, this is their first tournament since being reunited after spending five months apart following the reshuffle by men’s doubles head coach Herry Iman Pierngadi.
Now back together, they have another chance to show that their World Championships silver medal in August was no one-off and that they remain a pair Malaysia can bank on heading towards the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.
“I think we both have our own dreams that we haven’t achieved in our lives,” said Wooi Yik in a post-match interview with the Badminton World Federation (BWF).
“I think we still have something to push for, and that is what this partnership means to us.
“At this moment, my focus is obviously on LA 2028, so we hope we can show more maturity and experience in our game.''
Chia-Wooi Yik reached the second round after beating last year’s champions Takuro Hoki-Yugo Kobayashi 21-19, 14-21, 21-11 at the SJF Bank Arena in Odense.
It was only their fourth win over the Japanese pair in 13 meetings.
Tai-Roy King, meanwhile, head into the match with momentum after winning the Arctic Open last week.
They came from behind to beat South Korea’s Kang Min-hyuk-Lee Jong-min 13-21, 21-18, 21-19 in the first round on Wednesday (Oct 14).
There is also an added twist to today’s meeting as Tai has partnered both Chia and Wooi Yik during Herry’s earlier reshuffle.
Tai played three tournaments with Chia, including a runner-up finish at the Taiwan Open, before partnering Wooi Yik at the China Masters, where they reached the quarter-finals.
On paper, Chia-Wooi Yik have the edge.
Tai had previously lost to them while partnering Kang Khai Xing at the Indian Open in January, while Roy King and former partner Wan Arif Wan Junaidi failed to beat Chia-Wooi Yik in all four of their meetings, including at the All-England and Indonesian Open this year.
Tai, however, sees little reason to be intimidated by their more experienced teammates.
“I feel there is nothing to be scared of. We just have to play our best,” said Tai.
