KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 29 — The country’s number one men’s doubles pair Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik have decided to pull out of the 2022 Japan Open, a day after they were crowned as the world champions in Tokyo yesterday.

Badminton Association Malaysia doubles coaching director, Rexy Mainaky said the injury sustained by Aaron has forced them to withdraw from the tournament.

"Aaron is not feeling comfortable with the condition of his armpit muscle. Even in the final yesterday he did not unleash powerful smashes. So, Aaron does not want to take a risk in the Japan Open and that’s why he made a decision to pull out from the competition,” he told Bernama.

Meanwhile, BAM high performance director, Dr Tim Jones said they will do more assessments on Aaron when he returned from Japan soon.

"However, if it is confirmed as a minor strain, with good management of load and treatment, I believe within a few weeks, Aaron will be back at 100 per cent,” he said.

Aaron-Wooi Yik put up a superb performance to topple three-time world champions Mohammad Ahsan-Hendra Setiawan of Indonesia 21-19, 21-14 in the final of the 2022 BWF World Championships at the Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium.

Their achievement has not only ended Malaysia’s 45 year-long wait for the country’s maiden title in the world meet, but also marked Aaron-Wooi Yik’s first ever title in any tournament since they formed a partnership in 2017. — Bernama