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KUALA LUMPUR – It was a fitting National Day gift from the country’s top men’s doubles pair in badminton, Aaron Chia and Soh Wooi Yik, after they won Malaysia’s first World Championships title in the event held at the Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium today.
The closest Malaysia has ever gotten to the title was a silver medal coming from some of the country’s past greats like men’s doubles pair Razif-Jalani Sidek in 1987, Cheah Soon Kit-Soo Beng Kiang (1993) and Cheah Soon Kit-Yap Kim Hock (1997).
Speaking to The Vibes, Cheah congratulated the victorious pair, ranked sixth in the world, for achieving a goal that many Malaysians have tried so hard to accomplish before.
Cheah, who was also a coach to Aaron-Wooi Yik around 2016-2019, said he is proud to see the young men make national history by clinching the top place in their category in the championships held by the Badminton World Federation.
“Congratulations to them. Finally, we got to win the World Championships,” said Cheah. “This is good for the country after so many players have tried to win.
“Hopefully, Malaysia will get to produce more champions,” he added.
Meanwhile, Datuk Razif Sidek, who is also a former All-England doubles winner with brother Jalani, hoped that Aaron-Wooi Yik would continue with their success in producing more satisfactory results in the future.
He added that the pair’s defences were effective, which contributed to their victory.
“Congratulations to the players and (Badminton Association of Malaysia doubles coaching director) Rexy Mainaky for leading the doubles department,” Razif said.
“The difference between their performance today and previous ones, from what I can see, is their confidence.
“If they continue to make fewer mistakes, they can go further after this.”
Former BAM high-performance director Datuk James Selvaraj said that the toughest journey has yet to end as Aaron-Wooi Yik will need to keep their momentum going.
“This is the way to play. They were extremely focused and strategised the game nicely.
“The Indonesians were experienced players, but somehow Aaron-Wooi Yik managed to crack them and win,” he said.
He added that their victory now puts them in a tougher position.
As they have become champions, every other player would aim to beat them, explained Selvaraj.
In a stunning upset, the world no. 6 pair was up against third-ranked Muhammad Ahsan-Hendra Setiawan of Indonesia, and took the match in 40 minutes to win 21-19, 21-14. – The Vibes, August 28, 2022
