KUALA LUMPUR: Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik’s bid to reach the China Masters final fell short after they were beaten 21-17, 21-14 by India’s Satwiksairaj Rankireddy-Chirag Shetty in the semi-finals in Shenzhen on Saturday.
The world No. 2 had started brightly in the first game, leading 10-7, but failed to press home their advantage as the former world No. 1 Indians turned the tide to take it 21-17.
Things went downhill in the second game as Aaron-Wooi Yik allowed Satwiksairaj-Chirag to race to an 8-2 lead and never recovered.
The defeat also denied the Malaysians revenge for their painful World Championships loss in Paris last month, where the Indians stopped them in the quarter-finals to end their medal hopes.
It also narrowed Aaron-Wooi Yik’s head-to-head advantage to 11-5 in 16 meetings.
Still, it marked a record-equalling result for Aaron-Wooi Yik, who matched their semi-final finish at the same tournament back in 2019.
© New Straits Times Press (M) Bhd
