Our duo going great guns
Aaron and Wooi Yik set to jump from 200 to 20 in the world rankings
SECOND ROUND RESULTS
(Malaysians only)
Men’s singles: Soong Joo Ven bt Khosit Phetpradab 21-11, 21-11; Lee Zii Jia bt Yang Chih-chieh (Tpe) 21-18, 21-15.
Men’s doubles: Huang Kaixiang-Wang Zekang (Chn) bt Goh V Shem-Tan Wee Kiong 21-17, 21-16; Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik bt Jung Jae-wook-Kim Hwi-tae 21-17, 21-19; Kim Sa-rang-Tan Boon Heong (Kor-Mas) bt Arif Abdul Latif-Nur Azriyn Ayub 21-19, 22-24, 21-17; Choi Sol-gyu-Seo Sung-jae (Kor) bt Chen Tang Jie-Man Wei Chong 21-11, 21-19.
Women’s singles: Goh Jin Wei bt Zhang Yiman (Chn) 21-16, 21-15.
Mixed doubles: Choi Sol-gyu-Shin Seung-chan (Kor) bt Chen Tang Jie-Peck Yen Wei 21-19, 21-11; Tseng Min-hao-Lin Jhih-yun (Tpe) Arif Abdul Latif-Rusydina Antardayu Riodingin (Mas-Ina) 21-15 19-21 21-17. PETALING JAYA: From 200 to top 20 in the world rankings within a year – can shuttlers Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik pull it off?
It looks possible if their performances at the Korean Masters in Gwangju is anything to go by.
Yesterday, the world No. 22 stormed into the men’s doubles quarter-finals with a sensational 21-17, 21-19 win over Jung Jae-wookKim Hwi-tae of South Korea in the second round.
They had beaten another Korean pair Jung jung-young-Kim Dae-eun 21-13, 18-21, 21-19 in the opening round on Wednesday.
Today, they take another home pair Choi Solgyu-Seo Seung-jae for a place in the semi-finals. Solgyu-Seung-jae ended the run of another Malaysian pair Chen Tang Jie-Man Wei Chong with a 21-11, 21-19 win.
Aaron-Wooi Yik are hoping to move two rungs up in the world ranking by keeping their momentum going in the Korean Masters.
“We had to come from behind twice in our victory today. Our opponents played aggressively in the second game, but we stayed calm and focused on sticking to our game plan,” said Aaron.
“We didn’t change anything but managed to get our momentum back and countered them.
“We’re focusing on one match at a time but of course, we want to squeeze into the top 20 by the end of the year.”
Aaron-Wooi Yik are the only Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) pair still standing at the Korean Masters following the defeat of national No. 1 Goh V Shem-Tan Wee Kiong in the second round. The 2016 Olympic silver medallists were given the boot by China’s Huang Kaixiang-Wang Zekang 21-17, 21-16.
“There is some pressure being the only Malaysian pair left here now, but we’ll handle it.”
Ranked at 200th in the world at the start of the year, the duo have risen from the bottom with consistent outings throughout the year.
Their highlight of the year was when they surprised many for a creditable quarter-final finish at the World Championships in Nanjing, China, in August.
And although they failed to bag any titles this year, they came in as runner-ups at the Vietnam and Malaysia International Challenges in March and April and the Saarlolux Open in Germany last month.
Former international Tan Boon Heong’s challenge is still alive as he and partner Kim Sa-rang marched into the last eight with a hard-fought 21-19, 22-24, 21-17 win over former internationals Arif Abdul Latif-Nur Azriyn Ayub of Malaysia.
In the men’s singles, Soong Joo Ven upset fifth seed Khosit Phetpradab of Thailand 21-11, 21-11 while Lee Zii Jia knocked out Yang Chih-chieh of Taiwan 21-18, 21-15 to set up meetings against Sitthikom Thammasin of Thailand and Shesar Hiren Rhustavio of Indonesia respectively.
Goh Jin Wei kept the Malaysian flag flying and will be out to continue her good run when she faces Chiang Ying-li of Taiwan next.