KUALA LUMPUR: Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik’s hopes of extending their medal streak at the World Championships ended in disappointment after they were beaten by India’s Satwiksairaj Rankireddy-Chirag Shetty in the quarter-finals in Paris on Friday.
The world No. 2 fell 21-12, 21-19 at the Adidas Arena, failing to reach the podium for the first time since their historic title run in Tokyo 2022.
The result came as a blow, especially given Aaron-Wooi Yik’s solid head-to-head advantage against the Indian world No. 11 pair, who is coached by Malaysian Tan Kim Her, whom they had beaten 11 times in 14 previous meetings.
Aaron-Wooi Yik had also prevailed in both their clashes earlier this year at the Singapore Open and China Open.
A win would have seen Aaron-Wooi Yik become the first Malaysian doubles pair to medal at three consecutive world meets, following their gold in 2022 and bronze in Copenhagen in 2023.
They had also been chasing the chance to cement their legacy further by becoming the nation’s first multiple world champions
© New Straits Times Press (M) Bhd
