Defending champions Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik and women’s pair Pearly Tan-M. Thinaah advance to the Badminton Asia Championships quarter-finals after tough second-round wins
MALAYSIANS shuttlers Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik and Pearly Tan-M. Thinaah powered into the quarter-finals of the Badminton Asia Championships 2026.
The men’s doubles defending champions secured a hard-fought victory over China’s Hu Ke Yuan-Lin Xiang Yi with a score of 22-20, 21-19.
This marked their first career win against the Chinese pair at the Ningbo Olympic Sports Centre.
The second-seeded Malaysians will next face South Korea’s Kang Min Hyuk-Ki Dong Ju for a semi-final spot.
In the women’s doubles, Pearly-Thinaah were pushed to a thrilling three-game battle against Taiwan’s Hsu Yin Hui-Lin Jhih Yun.
They eventually triumphed 21-19, 19-21, 24-22 in a match lasting over an hour.
This victory marks their third win over the Taiwanese pair, having previously beaten them at the French Open 2025 and the Masters Japan 2025.
The Malaysian duo will meet either Japan’s Rui Hirokami-Sayaka Hobara or China’s Li Yi Jing-Luo Xu Min in the last eight.
Meanwhile, the Malaysian campaign saw a setback in the women’s doubles.
Ong Xin Yee-Carmen Ting lost 18-21, 14-21 to world number seven Rin Iwanaga-Kie Nakanishi of Japan in their second-round tie.
