Final loss in China fuels Aaron-Wooi Yik's fire to be world champs again
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 on Saturday (July 27).
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 at 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 of us, but we just want to stay calm because we believe the past is past.
"Our recent gameplay 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.
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