Aaron, Wooi Yik aim to end semi-final jinx at worlds
SEPANG: Top national men’s doubles shuttlers Aaron ChiaSoh Wooi Yik are bent on ending their semi-final jinx when they feature in the World Badminton Championships in Tokyo, Japan from Aug 22 to 28.
Aaron said they managed to put on their best display en route to helping Malaysia win the mixed team gold medal at the recently-concluded Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games but still fell short in the individual event when they lost in the semifinals.
He said that in a bid to overcome the ‘hurdle’, not only will they discuss with their coach to find the best solution but also redouble their efforts to ensure they can reach the final in Tokyo.
“I feel that our performance in the Commonwealth Games was still okay and we certainly targeted the gold medal, but we are a bit disappointed about the doubles event… can see we’re still inconsistent and (we) still lost in the semi-final.
We find it hard to identify what’s holding us back from reaching the finals, but we are looking for ways to overcome it,” he told reporters at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) here.
At the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games, the world number six pair fell in the men’s doubles semi-finals after losing 21-18, 17-21, 4-21 to England’s Ben Lane-Sean Vendy.
However, Aaron-Wooi Yik still won a bronze medal after defeating teammates Chan Peng Soon-Tan Kian Meng in the third-placing match. Commenting on the draw for the world meet in Tokyo, Aaron said they had no problems with it and were optimistic about emerging triumphant for the country.
“But we hope to be able to get past the semi-finals in Tokyo… just don’t want us to feel pressured during the match,” he said. According to the draw issued by Badminton World Federation (BWF), Aaron-Wooi Yik have been given a bye into the second round where they will meet either Taiwan’s Lu Ching YaoYang Po Han or Spain’s Joan Monroy-Carlos Piris.