KUALA LUMPUR: National men’s doubles team Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik are inching closer to the 2026 All England Championship title after defeating Chinese pair Chen Bo Yang-Liu Yi in the semi-finals on Saturday.
The second seeds of the tournament took 42 minutes to defeat their opponents, who were also ranked 11th in the world, with a score of 21-11, 21-19 in a thrilling match at Birmingham’s Utilita Arena.
Aaron-Wooi Yik gained an early advantage when they dominated the first set in just 15 minutes.
The second set, however, was a tight affair, with Aaron Wooi Yik trailing 15-18 at one point, but managed to rally to level the score at 18-18 before the world number two pair won 21-19.
Awaiting Aaron-Wooi Yik in the final stage are either the tournament’s first seeds from South Korea, Kim Won Ho-Seo Seung Jae, or the Indonesian pairing of Raymond Indra-Nikolaus Joaquin, who will meet in another semi-final.
The last time the Malaysian men’s doubles won the All England title was through Koo Kien Keat-Tan Boon Heong in the 2007 edition.
— BERNAMA
