PETALING JAYA: A minor injury will not derail men’s doubles pair Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik’s late surge to secure qualification for the season-ending World Tour Finals.
The duo were forced to retire from their French Open quarter-final match against eventual champions Man Wei Chong-Tee Kai Wun last Friday due to Wooi Yik suffering a right heel injury.
That withdrawal, combined with skipping the Hylo Open in Germany, leaves the pair fifth in the race for the coveted eight spots for the Finals in Hangzhou from Dec 9-13.
Despite the setback, Aaron confirmed that qualifying remains the top priority for the world No. 4 pair as they face a packed November schedule, beginning with the Korean Open (Nov 3-8), followed by the Kumamoto Masters (Nov 10-15), and concluding with the Hong Kong Open (Nov 17-22).
“We have to go all out because there are still three tournaments left,” said Aaron upon arriving at Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) yesterday.
“There are points to be earned, so we will compete and see how things turn out.”
Aaron, 29, also confirmed that his partner Wooi Yik, 28, is recovering well, describing the situation as “not serious”.
“Everything is good in terms of his condition.
“He is still recovering, but we will definitely be going to Korea, Japan and Hong Kong.”
Recently reunited after a brief split, Aaron-Wooi Yik proved they remain a formidable force by reaching the Denmark Open final just a week before their quarter-final withdrawal in Paris.
“We’ve been playing together for many years, so it (the split) didn’t really affect us that much,” he said.
However, he preferred to temper expectations of a deep run at the Finals.
“Let's qualify first, then we can think about the knockout stages.''
Aaron-Wooi Yik have never advanced past the group stage in their four previous attempts in 2019, 2020, 2023 and 2025.
Meanwhile, world No. 5 Goh Sze Fei-Nur Izzuddin Rumsani, the 2024 Finals silver medalists, have already secured their qualification. Only two entries per nation are allowed in the Finals.
