KUALA LUMPUR: World No. 2 Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik steadied their nerves to check into the second round of the China Masters with a hard-fought 23-21, 19-21, 21-19 victory over Taiwan’s Liu Kuang Heng-Yang Po Han in Shenzhen today.
The two-time Olympic bronze medallists were made to work hard in the opening game, trailing for most of the contest before saving two game points to snatch the early advantage.
Aaron-Wooi Yik looked on course to wrap it up in straight games after racing to a 14-10 lead in the second and holding a 19-16 advantage, but in a twist, the Taiwanese clawed back to force a decider.
The third game produced a dramatic finish as Aaron-Wooi Yik surged ahead 19-14, only for Liu-Yang to close the gap to 20-19.
The Malaysians, however, showed nerves of steel to finally seal the deal.
The victory was a relief for Aaron-Wooi Yik, who are looking to rebuild momentum after an erratic spell that had seen them suffer three first-round exits in their last five tournaments.
Earlier this year, they enjoyed a golden run when they bagged three titles between April and May — the Asia Championships, Thailand Open and Singapore Open.
Earlier, youngsters Ong Xin Yee–Carmen Ting also marched into the last 16 after securing a commanding 21-8, 21-13 win over India’s Rutaparna Panda–Swetaparna Panda.
The world No. 35 duo will face South Korea‘s world No. 7 Baek Ha Na–Lee So Hee next, hoping to again prove they are no pushovers after previously dragging Japan’s world No. 5 Kie Nakanishi–Rin Iwanaga to three games at the Japan Open in July.
© New Straits Times Press (M) Bhd
