KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 31 — National men’s doubles shuttlers Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik’s have to wait longer for their maiden World Tour as the Tokyo Olympics bronze medallists were ousted in the French Open semi-finals, early today.
Despite winning the opening game 21-14, the world number eight pair went down 10-21, 22-24 against former world champions Ko Sung-hyun-Shin Baek-cheol of South Korea in a-56 minute battle at the Stade Pierre de Coubertin, Paris.
In the final later today, the Koreans are set to face world number one pair, Marcus Fernaldi Gideon-Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo of Indonesia, who edged compatriots Fajar Alfian-Muhammad Rian Ardianto 21-19, 12-21, 26-24 in the semis.
Aaron-Wooi Yik advanced to the last four after defeating fifth seeds S. Rankireddy-Chirag Shetty of India 18-21, 21-18, 21-17 in the quarter-finals.
The 2019 SEA Games champions had come close to winning titles by advancing to the finals in the 2018 SaarLorLux Open, 2019 Malaysia International, 2019 All England and 2020 Thailand Open, but the title dream remains elusive for them.
Meanwhile, the future looks promising for Malaysia as men’s singles player Ng Tze Yong clinched the Belgian International title in Leuven.
The 21-year-old Johorean stunned Ajay Jayaram of India 21-14, 21-14 to win his third title, after having emerged champion in the 2019 South Australia International and 2021 Polish Open prior to this.
Speaking on the success, Tze Yong said the final looked easy for him because his tactical plan came good, besides being in good shape.
“I think my performance has been quite consistent in this tournament, from the first round when I managed to beat the sixth seed, Victor Svendsen from Denmark. So I am happy with my performance.
“After each match, I will do more stretching (exercises) and drink protein for recovery, I think it helps me be consistent and my stamina doesn’t drop very much (after playing). I will try my best to win the next tournament,” said Sze Yong, who was the Czech Open runner-up last weekend.
Down the road, the 74th world-ranked player is expected to compete in the Irish Open in Dublin from Nov 17-20, followed by the Scottish Open (Nov 25-28) and the Welsh International in Cardiff (Dec 1-4). — Bernama
