KUALA LUMPUR, June 29 — National top men’s doubles pair Aaron Chia – Soh Wooi Yik exacted revenge for their second-round loss in the 2021 Denmark Open at the hands of Akira Koga – Taichi Saito by eliminating the Japanese pair in the opening round of the 2022 Malaysia Open Badminton Championships today.
Fifth seeds Aaron – Wooi Yik overcame some nervy moments to beat the unseeded Japanese pair 21 – 18 in the opening game.
The 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games bronze medallists then closed out the match with a 21 – 19 win in the second game, to level their head-to-head score at 1 – 1.
Aaron-Wooi Yik will meet Terry Hee Yong Kai – Loh Kean Hean in the second round tomorrow for a place in the last eight.
The Singaporean pair had earlier seen off South Korea’s Kang Min Hyuk-Seo Seung Jae 21 – 14, 21 – 19.
Meanwhile, Aaron was delighted to avenge their 19 – 21, 13 – 21 loss in Denmark last year and was raring to make Terry – Kean Hean their next victims in this tournament.
Although a few high-profile shuttlers have been sent packing in the tournament, Wooi Yik believed they can avoid a similar fate, especially in tomorrow’s action.
Women’s singles top seed Akane Yamaguchi of Japan and world number three mixed doubles pair Yuta Watanabe – Arisa Higashino, also from Japan, were among the notable first-round casualties so far.
“We are not worried. The important thing is for us to upset other players,” Wooi Yik told reporters at the mixed zone after the match today.
— Bernama
