KUALA LUMPUR: World No. 2 Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik fended off a spirited challenge from compatriots Arif Junaidi-Yap Roy King to book their place in the men’s doubles quarter-finals of the World Championships in Paris on Thursday.
The 2022 world champions had to battle from a game down before prevailing 18-21, 21-18, 26-24 against the world No. 22 debutants in a gripping all-Malaysian last-16 tie at the Adidas Arena.
The clash carried added spice following Aaron’s cheeky pre-tournament jibe, when he challenged the juniors on how they would fare against him and Wooi Yik. Arif memorably retorted at the time: “If we meet them, we’ll whack them.”
Arif-Roy King looked ready to walk the talk when they snatched the opening game 21-18, but Aaron-Wooi Yik drew on all their experience to claw back from 15-11 down in the second to force a decider.
The seniors were again in trouble at 18-15 behind in the third and even had to save a match point at 20-19, before holding their nerve in a tense deuce battle and finally sealing the deal on their third match point at 25-24.
This was only the second international meeting between the pairs, with Aaron-Wooi Yik also winning their first encounter in the Thailand Open quarter-finals in May.
Their familiarity from daily sparring sessions was evident as the juniors stretched their seniors to the limit.
Despite the defeat, Arif-Roy King can take plenty of positives from their brave performance, underlining their potential as Malaysia’s next force in men’s doubles.
© New Straits Times Press (M) Bhd
