KUALA LUMPUR, July 11 — “Do not give up!”
That was the advice given by Indonesia’s men’s doubles pair Fajar Alfian – Muhammad Rian Ardianto to Malaysia’s number one men’s doubles pair Aaron Chia – Soh Wooi Yik, who they defeated on their way to winning the 2022 Malaysia Masters title on Sunday.
Fajar believes that the time will definitely come for Aaron – Wooi Yik, who first paired up in 2017, to win their first championship.
“Aaron – Wooi Yik won bronze at Tokyo Olympics last year and I believe they can rise to win their first title soon,” he told reporters here.
Fajar – Muhammad Rian, the world number five men’s doubles pair, claimed their second Malaysia Masters title in straight sets 21 – 12, 21 – 19 against third-ranked compatriots Mohammad Ahsan-Hendra Setiawan in just 32 minutes in the final on Sunday.
Meanwhile, Muhammad Rian said they would also try their best to bring the record clash between them to 3 – 3 after losing the previous three matches against Aaron – Wooi Yik.
Their latest meeting in the semi-finals of the Malaysia Masters at Axiata Arena last Saturday was in favour of Fajar – Muhammad Rian, 21 – 14, 19 – 21, 21 – 10.
The Indonesian pair lost straight sets 24 – 26 and 15 – 21 to Aaron – Wooi Yik in their first meet at the Malaysia Masters championship in 2019.
Apart from winning this year’s title, Fajar – Muhammad Rian had also clinched two other titles, namely the Indonesia Masters 2022 last month and the Swiss Open 2022 in March.
— Bernama
