KUALA LUMPUR: Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik finally broke through against Indonesia’s Fajar Alfian-Shobihul Fikri after staging a sensational comeback to open their men’s doubles Group B campaign at the BWF World Tour Finals in Hangzhou on Wednesday.
Competing at the season-ending showpiece for the sixth time, the world No. 2 Malaysians clinched their first win over the world No. 8 Indonesians with a pulsating 22-24, 21-18, 21-19 victory.
Aaron-Wooi Yik were in deep trouble in the deciding game after falling behind 8-2, but showed remarkable composure to claw back to 16-12 before stepping on the gas, reeling off six straight points to surge ahead 17-16.
They kept their nerve in the closing exchanges to seal the dramatic turnaround, snapping a two-match losing streak against Fajar-Fikri in the process.
The win has boosted Aaron-Wooi Yik’s hopes of advancing beyond the group stage for the first time at the Finals.
Wooi Yik credited their mental strength and discipline for the comeback.
“Although the match was controlled by them for most of the time, especially in the third game when they had a big lead, our focus and mentality were the key,” said Wooi Yik.
“Our defence and counter-attack helped us come back little by little, gain confidence, and go one point at a time.”
Aaron said belief was crucial after dropping the opening game.
“We just kept believing and focused on ourselves. Losing the first game wasn’t a big deal. We tried to reset and play our usual game,” said Aaron.
Wooi Yik added that patience proved decisive in the closing stages.
“We didn’t think too much and just went one point at a time. It’s a lot about mentality and patience. If you try to kill it too fast, you’ll make unforced errors. Today, we stayed patient and did it step by step.”
In the other Group B match, India’s Satwiksairaj Rankireddy-Chirag Shetty rallied to defeat China‘s Liang Wei Keng-Wang Chang 12-21, 22-20, 21-14.
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