KUALA LUMPUR – National men’s doubles duo Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik made a commanding start to their Badminton Asia Championships 2025 campaign in Ningbo, China, by marching to the second round today.
The tournament held at the Ningbo Olympic Sports Centre Gymnasium saw the sixth seeded pair toiling over a 40-minute duel before disposing of Japan’s Kenya Mitsuhashi-Hiroki Okamura 21-18, 21-15 in straight sets to stretch their unbeaten run against the Japanese combination to a dominant 4-0.
Next up for the former 2022 world champions in the second round are a lesser-known Indian pair, Hariharan Amsakarunan-Ruban Kumar Rethinasabapathi, who outplayed Sri Lanka’s Madhuka Dulanjana-Lahiru Weerasinghe, 21-3, 21-12.
Despite their best efforts, national number one women’s doubles pair, Pearly Tan-M. Thinaah once again found themselves up against a brick wall as they were unable to break the jinx against Kim Hye Jeong-Kong Hee Yong, losing 19-21, 26-28, in 58 minutes.
This marks their third straight loss to the South Korean pair, who first took them down in the semi-finals of the India Open 2025, 21-18, 21-18, last January.
Meanwhile, it was a return to forget for national men’s singles player Ng Tze Yong, who was easily dispatched by reigning world champion and third seed Kunlavut Vitidsarn of Thailand, 9-21, 12-21, in 44 minutes.
Previously, the 24-year-old was sidelined for more than a year since February 2024 due to a back injury.
Malaysia’s hopes in the men’s singles now rest on the shoulders of Justin Hoh, who staged a thrilling comeback in a 79-minute battle against South Korea’s Hyeok Jin-jeon.
After a sluggish start, losing the first set 14-21, Justin roared back to life, clawing his way through the next two sets to win 22-20, 21-16.
A mammoth challenge awaits the unseeded shuttler in the second round tomorrow as he will face defending champion and second seeded Indonesian, Jonatan Christie, who came from behind to eliminate Japan’s Koki Watanabe, 16-21, 21-12, 21-18.
Earlier today, Leong Jun Hao’s campaign came to a premature end as the 25-year-old was shown the exit by Taiwan’s seventh seed, Lin Chun Yi, 11-21, 19-21.
The tournament that will run until this Sunday offers a total prize pool of US$500,000 (RM2.23 million). – April 9, 2025