KUALA LUMPUR – Malaysia’s top men’s doubles duo Aaron Chia and Soh Wooi Yik have secured a place in the Paris Olympics quarter-finals after chalking up a 21-10, 21-15 win over Canada’s Adam Dong-Nyl Yakura in their second Group A tie today.
The world number four pair had earlier dispatched the English duo Ben Lane and Sean Vendy in the opening group fixture on Saturday.
It seems like the initiative to keep a low profile on social media is indeed working well for the duo.
Speaking to the Badminton World Federation in their post-match interview, the Tokyo Olympics bronze medallists said they had not completely shut down their social media accounts but had made a conscious decision to stay away from them during their Olympics campaign.
“We haven’t shut down our social media, but yes, we are just staying away from it to focus on our Olympics campaign. It’s to avoid unnecessary distractions.
“We are happy to get this win, as it puts us in a position of advantage. However, we have to prepare for our final match against the Chinese pair (Liang Weikeng and Wang Chang),” said Aaron.
While they could easily be celebrating their quarter-final berth, Aaron and Wooi Yik have chosen to stay grounded ahead of their final group showdown against the Chinese world number one pair.
Just like Aaron and Wooi Yik, Weikeng and Wang Chang were also made to slog by Lane and Vendy before carving out a 21-18, 13-21, 21-14 win.
With a superior 6-2 head-to-head record over Aaron and Wooi Yik, Weikeng and Wang Chang will start the final group match as favourites.
However, in their last encounter at the Thomas Cup in Chengdu, Aaron and Wooi Yik got the better of their opponents in three games.
Commenting further, Wooi Yik said it all boiled down to who would have the mental fortitude in the end.
“They are tough opponents, but our matches have always been tight. It will all depend on who has the better mindset on the day. That is what differentiates the top players.
“What we can do is prepare our best for the match,” added Wooi Yik.
For the record, only the top two pairs from each of the groups, A to D, will advance to the top eight knockout stage. – July 28, 2024