KUALA LUMPUR: World No. 2 Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik chose to focus on the positives after bowing out in the China Masters semi-finals, taking heart from their progress following a dip in form in recent weeks.
The two-time Olympics bronze medallists, who fell 21-17, 21-13 to India’s Satwiksairaj Rankireddy-Chirag Shetty in Shenzhen on Saturday, admitted their performance was far from perfect but were encouraged by the strides made.
“It’s progress for us. We just have to keep going, keep pushing until we find our rhythm,” said Wooi Yik.
“We tried hard today. Maybe it didn’t go so well in our gameplay in the second game, but we just have to learn from it.”
When asked what positives they could take away from the week, Aaron quipped: “No injuries, that’s the positive one.”
The semi-final finish was a welcome lift for Aaron-Wooi Yik, who had endured a tough stretch, suffering first-round exits in three of their last five tournaments, including at Hong Kong Open last week.
Their only bright spot in that run came at the China Open, where they reached the final but finished runners-up.
It was a stark contrast to the form of their life earlier in the season, when they captured three titles in April and May — the Asia Championships, Thailand Open and Singapore Open — and were also finalists at the Malaysia Masters.
© New Straits Times Press (M) Bhd
