Sixth final, no title: Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik fall short in China Open Super 1000 showdown
According to Free Malaysia Today, the world No. 2 Malaysians were beaten 15-21, 14-21 in 35 minutes at the Olympic Sports Center Gymnasium in Changzhou, with the Indonesian duo dominating from start to finish.
Fajar and Shohibul, playing only their second tournament together after returning at the Japan Open last week, delivered a sharp, aggressive performance that left Aaron-Wooi Yik struggling to respond.
It was a disappointing outcome for the Malaysians, who were also runners-up at last year's China Open, having lost to home favourites Liang Weikeng and Wang Chang in the 2023 final.
Aaron and Wooi Yik reprotedly took home US$70,000 (RM295,146) as runners-up, while the Indonesian pair claimed the winner's purse of US$148,000 (RM624,000).
This was the sixth time Aaron-Wooi Yik reached the final of a World Tour Super 1000 event, but the title remains elusive.
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New Straits Times
34 minutes ago
- New Straits Times
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Malay Mail
3 hours ago
- Malay Mail
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The Star
3 hours ago
- The Star
Bigger gain after pain
Tough battle: Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik in action against Indonesia's Fajar Alfian-Shohibul Fikri during the China Open men's doubles final in Changzhou yesterday. — AFP PETALING JAYA: Men's doubles shuttlers Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik have vowed to make amends after missing out on the China Open title by going all out to capture gold in the World Championships. Aaron-Wooi Yik were hoping to win their first World Tour Super 1000 title but were denied by Indonesia's Fajar Alfian-Shohibul Fikri, losing 15-21, 14-21 at the Olympic Sports Center Gymnasium in Changzhou yesterday. While it was a disappointing end after a good run in the tourney, the world No. 2 pair are keen to use the pain to drive them to the world title in Paris from Aug 25-31. Aaron-Wooi Yik created history by becoming the first Malaysian shuttlers to win gold in the 2022 edition in Tokyo before claiming bronze in 2023 and are now eyeing a third medal in Paris. 'Our goal is the gold medal in the world meet. We hope to keep improving and grab it,' Aaron told the Badminton World Federation (BWF). 'Next we need to recover and prepare well for the tournament.' Wooi Yik said: 'We still have almost a month to prepare and we want to keep our rhythm until Paris. 'We know there will be high expectations on us but we just want to stay calm because we believe the past is past. Our recent game play is different, so we just believe in each other and the coach's training. We don't expect too much but we still believe we can make it.' One pair who will not be in Aaron-Wooi Yik's way in the world meet are Fajar-Shohibul as the Indonesians have only recently formed a temporary partnership. Fajar has instead qualified for the prestigious tourney with former partner Rian Ardianto. In Changzhou, Aaron-Wooi Yik could not raise their game against Fajar-Shohibul and went down in just 35 minutes to the pumped up Indonesians in a fast-paced match. It was Aaron-Wooi Yik's second defeat in the China Open final after they finished runners-up to home favourites Liang Weikeng-Wang Chang in the 2023 edition. Aaron admitted that he and Wooi Yik found it harder to play against scratch pairings. 'All their shots were high quality and we couldn't handle them,' said Aaron. 'We always need some time to analyse scratch pairings and adapt against them. We had a game plan against them but they played very well.' Despite missing out on the crown again, Aaron-Wooi Yik are feeling positive about their performance ahead of the Paris showpiece after turning around their form following first-round exits in their last two outings in the Indonesian and Japan Opens. The duo had also made it into their fifth final of the year after capturing the Asian Championships, Singapore Open, Thailand Open and finishing runners-up to teammates Man Wei Chong-Tee Kai Wun in the Malaysian Masters.
