KUALA LUMPUR: National men’s doubles pair Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik have finally won their first ever Badminton Asian Championship title after beating Chen Bo Yang-Liu Yi of China in Ningbo, China today.
The six-seeds were unfazed by the strong home crowd as they beat the unseeded Chinese pair 21-19, 21-17 at the Ningbo Olympic Sports Centre Gymnasium, earning them the distinction of being the first Malaysian pair to win the BAC since Choong Tan Fook-Lee Wan Wah in 2007.
The straight-game win belied the tough fight the Malaysian pair faced, as the Chinese overcame a 0-3 lead in the first game to be draw level at 15-15 before the Malaysians closed them down by winning 21-19.
The Malaysians did not have a good start in the second game, trailing 9-11 before they surged to retake command at 19-15, and clinched the title with a powerful smash by Aaron, ending the game 21-17.
Aaron-Wooi Yik’s BAC win is a far cry from their last BAC final in Muntinlupa, the Philippines, where they lost to Indonesia’s Pramudya Kusuma-Yeremia Rambitan, 21-23, 10-21 in 2022, and is a culmination of their flawless run, as they won without dropping a single game throughout the entire tournament.
Their wins include a stunning 21-12, 21-14 semi-final victory over second seeds and home favourites Liang Wei Keng-Wang Chang on Saturday.
Aaron-Wooi Yik take home US$37,000 (approximately RM164,000) as champions while Bo Yang-Liu Yi received US$17,500 (about RM77,000) as runners-up.