KUALA LUMPUR, March 8 — Aaron Chian and Soh Wooi Yik put on a show of speed, power and agility to brush aside China’s Chen Bo Yang-Liu Yi and storm into the men’s doubles final of the All England Badminton Championships in Birmingham yesterday (early today Malaysian time).
It was a rip-roaring victory for the world number two Malaysians as they pummelled the world number 11 pair from China with smashes after smashes for a 21-11, 21-19 win in 41 minutes to check into the All England final for the third time, and take a step closer to ending the country’s 19-year wait for the title.
The first game saw Aaron-Wooi Yik and Bo Yang-Liu Yi go toe-to-toe in a thrilling display of attacking badminton to be tied at 7-all, before the Malaysians reeled off five straight points to go 13-7 ahead.
Aaron-Wooi Yik then turned on the power to romp home 21-11 in just 15 minutes.
The second game saw Aaron-Wooi Yik’s game littered with errors, allowing Bo Yang-Liu Yi to pull away for an 18-13 lead.
With their backs against the wall, the second-seeded Aaron-Wooi Yik exploded to life, as they again reeled off five straight points to level the score at 18-18.
Although Bo Yang-Liu Yi managed to nudge 19-18 ahead, that was as good as it got for them, as the Malaysians ramped up their speed and power game to clinch the next three points for a convincing and much-deserved victory.
Aaron-Wooi Yik will be hoping to be third time lucky after finishing as runners-up in both the 2019 and 2024 finals – losing to Indonesians Mohammad Ahsan-Hendra Setiawan in 2019 and Fajar Alfian-Muhammad Rian Ardianto in 2024.
Aaron-Wooi Yik will meet the winners of the other semi-final clash between top seeds Kim Won Ho-Seo Seung Jae of South Korea and Iraymond Indra-Nikolaus Joaquin of Indonesia.
For the record, Koo Kien Keat-Tan Boon Heong were the last Malaysians to win the men’s doubles title at the All England, the world’s oldest badminton tournament, in 2007. — Bernama