Latest news with #WooiYik
The Star
05-06-2025
- General
- The Star
Aaron-Wooi Yik miss out on taking world No. 1 spot but can walk tall
PETALING JAYA: Men's doubles pair Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik may have missed their chance to claim the world number one spot this week at the Indonesian Open, but they can still take pride in what they have achieved over the past three weeks. The world No. 3 Aaron-Wooi Yik went down 13-21, 21-19, 18-21 to Rasmus Kjaer-Frederik Sogaard of Denmark in the first round on Wednesday in Jakarta. After a successful three weeks where they started by winning the Thailand Open, finishing second at the Malaysian Masters and bagging the Singapore Open, this time at the Istora Senayan, the Malaysians simply had nothing left in the tank. Aaron-Wooi Yik were in contention to become world number one, provided they won the Indonesian Open, as the points gap among the top three men's doubles pairs is extremely tight. Current world number one Goh Sze Fei-Nur Izzuddin have 91,090 points, followed closely by Denmark's Kim Astrup-Anders Skaarup Rasmussen with 90,411 points, while Aaron-Wooi Yik sit third with 89,870 points. The 27-year-old Wooi Yik took the defeat in his stride. "To be honest, physically it wasn't great for us, but we kept trying mentally," said Wooi Yik. "We didn't give up, we just fought for every point. This is the game, and we have to admit the Danes played better than us today (Wednesday). "They were fresher, physically stronger. But it's okay, we'll try again and we'll fight back." Although Aaron-Wooi Yik did not become the world number one pair, they have shown great performance during the past four weeks. They had played 16 matches in four different tournaments over a span of just four weeks and winning two out of it, is praise worthy. Aaron-Wooi Yik said they were motivated to win titles that had been difficult to achieve than to focus solely on reaching the top spot in the rankings. Added Aaron: "I think there's still room for improvement." "It's time for us to go back, get some rest, then return to training and prepare for the next tournament," said Aaron.
Free Malaysia Today
04-06-2025
- General
- Free Malaysia Today
Aaron-Wooi Yik in shock 1st round exit at Indonesia Open
Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik will have to wait for a fourth title in a year after their defeat in Jakarta today. (Bernama pic) PETALING JAYA : Reigning Asian men's doubles champions Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik were shown the exit at the Indonesia Open after suffering a shock first round defeat at the hands of Danish pair Rasmus Kjaer-Frederik Sogaard in Jakarta today. The world No 3 shuttlers lost in three games to the 16th ranked pair 13-21, 21-19, 18-21 in a match that lasted nearly an hour. They had beaten the Danish duo at the last three encounters – at the All England Open, the Malaysia Masters, and the Singapore Open. The defeat means that Aaron-Wooi Yik will have to wait for a record four titles in a year. They had won the Badminton Asia Championships in April, the Thailand Open last month and the Singapore Open last week after qualifying for four consecutive finals. Rasmus-Frederik will meet India's Chirag Shetty-Satwiksairaj Rankireddy in the second round tomorrow.
The Star
01-06-2025
- Sport
- The Star
Turning into bravehearts
On fire: Aaron Chia (left) and Soh Wooi Yik pose after their victory against Kim Won-ho-Seo Seung-jae of South Korea at the Singapore Open. — AFP PETALING JAYA: It's a new era of consistency for men's doubles players Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik under coach Herry Iman Pierngadi. Yesterday, the former world champions Aaron-Wooi Yik fought bravely to slay formidable South Korean foes Kim Won-ho-Seo Seung-jae 15-21, 21-18, 21-19 in the men's doubles final to lift their first Singapore Open title. There were anxious moments towards the end but the Malaysians did not crumble as they used to in the past, but instead, had the last laugh by outfoxing the All-England champions to bag the US$74,000 prize money. It was the Malaysians' third title and fourth final appearance this year. In fact, it was their third back-to-back final but they hardly showed any sign of lethargy at the Lion City but kept attacking the world No. 10 Won-ho-Seung-jae. And Aaron attributed their fine run to their growing confidence under Herry. 'We are glad and happy with our consistent show. 'One of the aspects that had made the difference for us is our new coach. We have to give him the credit,' said Aaron. 'He had polished our game play and is turning us to be more solid and consistent. 'And all these are helping us to feel more confident of ourselves and is leading us to play confidently.' Wooi Yik, who has shown a lot of improvement and seemed more calm under duress, said their trust in each other also played a key role. 'Our trust in each other and the match preparation made the difference in our game. It was close in the decider but Aaron calmed me down. We wanted a victory but fortunately, we didn't rush into it,' said Wooi Yik. Will they have enough fuel in the tank to give another good showing and stay unbeatable at the Indonesian Open starting tomorrow in Jakarta? Aaron and Wooi Yik do hope so. 'We still have much to improve, as long as we train hard and translate it into our game, the results will come,' added Wooi Yik. Meanwhile, Thailand's Kunlavut Vitidsarn was on top of the world after beating Lu Guangzu of China 21-6, 21-10 in just 37 minutes to lift the men's singles title. The former world champion, currently ranked second behind Shi Yuqi of China in the world ranking, is set to become Thailand's first men's singles player to be ranked No. 1 in the world when the Badminton World Federation (BWF) publish the new list tomorrow.
The Star
30-05-2025
- Sport
- The Star
Winding road ahead
Payback time: Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik beat Man Wei Chong-Tee Kai Wun by edging them 22-20, 21-17 in the quarter-finals. PETALING JAYA: Men's doubles shuttlers Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik believe they are currently enjoying one of the best stretches of their career after storming into the semi-finals of the Singapore Open. Yesterday, the duo exacted sweet revenge on their Malaysian Masters conquerors Man Wei Chong-Tee Kai Wun by edging them 22-20, 21-17 in the quarter-finals. This will be Aaron-Wooi Yik's third straight semi-final appearance in as many weeks, following strong campaigns at the Thailand Open and Malaysian Masters. In Bangkok, they clinched the Thailand Open title by defeating Denmark's William Kryger Boe-Christian Faust Kjaer in the final. They came close to adding a second title at the home Masters last week but fell to Wei Chong-Tee Kai Wun in the final. Aaron-Wooi Yik are now determined to add another podium finish to their impressive run but must first overcome a tricky semi-final hurdle today against India's Satwiksairaj Rankireddy-Chirag Shetty. On paper, Aaron-Wooi Yik hold the advantage in both world ranking and head-to-head record, having won nine of their 12 meetings against the Indian pair, who are currently ranked No. 27. However, Aaron is not taking anything for granted, especially after Satwiksairaj-Chirag's impressive win over world No. 1 Goh Sze Fei-Nur Izzuddin in the quarter-finals. 'I think they might have been dealing with some injuries recently, so we haven't seen them much in action this past month. That makes it harder to gauge their current form,' said Aaron. 'It doesn't matter what happened in previous matches this is a different situation. For now, we just want to focus on performing our best against Satwik and Chirag and see what happens tomorrow,' added Wooi Yik. Aaron-Wooi Yik credited their recent form to the guidance of new coach Herry Iman Pierngadi, whose influence has brought stability and confidence to their game, although they admit there's still more work to be done. 'I think we've been consistent before this as well, but this time it feels different, maybe because we've improved and become more mature. There's still a lot of room for improvement, especially since this is just the beginning with our new coach. It's a new journey, and we need to be well prepared for what's ahead,' said Wooi Yik. As for the quarter-final win over Wei Chong-Kai Wun, Wooi Yik felt that it was not much different from their Malaysian Masters final last week, except that this time, they were more consistent throughout the encounter. 'I don't think there was much difference because we're teammates, right? We know each other very well. It really comes down to who plays better in the moment. I think today we played better and were more consistent compared to them, so there wasn't much separating us,' he said.
The Star
26-05-2025
- Sport
- The Star
Nothing is impossible as Wooi Yik says doubles can try for 1-2 finish in worlds
National men's doubles shuttlers Soh Wooi Yik and Aaron Chia. — IZZRAFIQ ALIAS/The Star PETALING JAYA: Is a dream all-Malaysian men's doubles final in the World Championships possible? Shuttler Soh Wooi Yik believes this is not out of reach at the worlds in Paris from Aug 25-31. Wooi Yik and Aaron Chia had set up an-all Malaysian title match with teammates Man Wei Chong-Tee Kai Wun in the Malaysian Masters, with the latter ending a 12-year wait for a title. The world No. 8 pair were the first home winners since Goh V Shem-Lim Khim Wah in 2013. Aaron-Wooi Yik and their teammates' feat under legendary Indonesian coach Herry Iman Pierngadi, who took over the men's doubles head coach role from Tan Bin Shen in February, has raised hopes of similar success in bigger tourneys such as the World Championships. Independent pair Goh Sze Fei-Nur Izzuddin Rumsani's expected rise to the world No. 1 spot when the official rankings list will be updated today has also fuelled the tantalising possibility of seeing two Malaysian pairs battling it out for the world crown. On the dream scenario, Wooi Yik said: "Of course there's a healthy rivalry between us as the Malaysian men's doubles is very strong now. We hope we can maintain this. "Our mission does not end here (in the Malaysian Masters). We have much more to aim for in the future like the World Championships and Olympics. Based on the first phase of qualifiers, Aaron-Wooi Yik, Wei Chong-Kai Wun and Sze Fei-Izzuddin have made the cut for the world meet this year. Aaron-Wooi Yik created history in 2022 when they became the first Malaysian shuttlers to win the world title. Wei Chong-Kai Wun and Sze Fei-Izzuddin though have never won a medal in the showpiece event and will be keen for a breakthrough this time. Both pairs and Aaron-Wooi Yik have captured five titles already so far this year. Wei Chong-Kai Wun added the Malaysian Masters crown to their Indonesian Masters title in January while Aaron-Wooi Yik won the Asian Championships last month and Thailand Open last week. Sze Fei-Izzuddin claimed the Indian Open in January. Wooi Yik hopes to see one of Sze Fei-Izzuddin or Wei Chong-Kai Wun qualify for the next Olympics in 2028 in Los Angeles along with him and Aaron. "Aaron and I have been to two Olympics, so we hope the other two pairs can follow us to the next Games," said Wooi Yik. Only a maximum of two pairs from a country can make the cut for the Olympics, provided both are ranked in the world's top eight before the end of the qualifying period. Aaron-Wooi Yik captured bronze in both the 2020 Tokyo and 2024 Paris Olympics where they were the sole Malaysian representatives in the men's doubles. Meanwhile, Aaron-Wooi Yik have also set their sights on completing their title collection in the World Tour by winning a Super 1000 crown. The pair have so far claimed the Super 300 Korean Masters in 2024, Super 750 Denmark Open in 2023 and Super 500 title in Thailand last week. "Hopefully, we can win a Super 1000 title soon. We have a new coach and we have to keep training hard under him," said Wooi Yik. Aaron-Wooi Yik have been in fine form under Herry but believe they can still get better. "He has only been coaching us for a few months, so this is still a learning period for us. We are trying to adapt as fast as possible," said Aaron.
