Aaron-Wooi Yik deliver perfect Merdeka present

KUALA LUMPUR: Top men’s doubles pair Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik gave Malaysia a fitting Merdeka Day gift by winning the 2022 World Badminton Championships title in Tokyo yesterday.

In the final at the Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium, Aaron-Wooi Yik scored an emphatic 21-19, 21-14 victory in 40 minutes over three-time world champions Mohammad Ahsan-Hendra Setiawan of Indonesia.

The win over the Indonesians, dubbed “The Daddies”, made Aaron-Wooi Yik the first ever Malaysian shuttlers to be crowned world champions.

In their three previous outings at the championships, world No. 6 Aaron-Wooi Yik had only gone as far as the quarterfinals, at the 2018 edition in Nanjing, China.

The Tokyo 2020 Olympics bronze medallists were also the first Malaysian pair to enter the final in 12 years, after Koo Kien Keat-Tan Boon Heong did it in the 2010 edition in Paris.

When a drop shot finally landed with the Indonesian pair stranded in mid-court, Aaron and Wooi Yik sank to the ground, disbelieving the enormity of their accomplishment.

The Malaysians were up against a pair bidding for their fourth world title.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob congratulated Aaron and Wooi Yik for creating history for Malaysia.

“History has been created for Malaysian badminton. Congratulations to Aaron Chia and Soh Wooi Yik for being the first Malaysians to emerge as world badminton champions,” he said on his official Facebook page.

The Indonesians nearly had the first game in the bag at 18-12 but were unable to find a way past the Malaysians’ defence.

The switch happened with Aaron-Wooi Yik avoiding quick exchanges and opening up the game, keeping the shuttle deep and challenging the Indonesians to hit through their defence.

Aaron-Wooi Yik grabbed nine of the next 10 points to steal the game, and then it was all one-way traffic in the second as the Malaysians stuck to their game plan.

“I have no words to describe what we’re feeling,” Aaron told the Badminton World Federation after the match.

“Of course, we are so happy to make ourselves proud, to make our country proud, as the first Malaysian world champions.

“Last year, we won the bronze at the Olympics in Tokyo. This year, we got the gold medal in Tokyo. So, I think Tokyo is lucky for us.”

Aaron said the big difference in yesterday’s clash against Mohammad Ahsan-Hendra was their focus on court as well as their mindset, as they were not bothered by the score regardless of whether they were leading or trailing.

“We know they are good on the first three shots, so we tried to change our game plan, tried to be more patient and use our own strengths.”

Wooi Yik said: “We have partnered each other for four years and we have often lost in the finals and semifinals. But now, we’ve finally got the title.

“I have done a lot of work on my backcourt play. I’m a frontcourt player, but I wanted to be an all-round player too. This is the strategy we’ve been working on.” – Bernama/Agencies