National men’s doubles shuttlers Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik avenged their previous loss to English pair Ben Lane-Sean Vendy with a hard-fought win in the second round of the China Masters in Shenzhen.
The Olympic bronze medallist, who lost to their lower-ranked opponents in the first round of the Hong Kong Open last week, battled for 71 minutes to book a quarter-final berth.
The world No 2 pair defeated the 14th-ranked English pair 14-21, 21-15, 25-23, providing relief to the Malaysian coaching team, which had voiced concern over their dip in form in recent tournaments.
Aaron-Wooi Yik will face either compatriots Man Wei Chong-Tee Kai Wun or Indonesia’s Leo Rolly Carnando-Bagas Maulana in tomorrow’s quarter-finals.
Aaron-Wooi Yik, who have won a personal-best three titles this year, are part of the youth and sports ministry’s RM20 million Road to Gold project aimed at winning a gold medal at the 2028 Olympic Games in the US.
Last week, national men’s doubles head coach Herry Iman Pierngadi expressed concern over their alarming slump in form after their first-round exit in Hong Kong.
The pair also fell at the opening hurdle of the Orleans Masters, All England, Indonesia Open and Japan Open.
Separately, in another mixed doubles second round match, Hoo Pang Ron-Cheng Su Yin gave China‘s world No 1 pair Feng Yan Zhe-Huang Dong Ping a run for their money by winning the opening game, but ultimately lost 21-16, 7-21, 10-21 in a 58-minute match.
Yan Zhe-Dong Ping will meet their compatriots Guo Xin Wa-Chen Fang Hui or Indonesia’s Amri Syahnawi-Nita Violina Marwah in the quarter-final.
