Badminton: Aaron-Wooi Yik through to All-England final
Sunday, 10 Mar 20197:54 AM MYT
by tan ming wai
Filepic of Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik in action
PETALING JAYA: National men's doubles pair Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik are on the brink of claiming a sensational All-England victory after sealing a place in the final on Saturday (March 9).
Despite being just one win away from a famous triumph, the duo are not about to get carried away just yet.
"We're not going to celebrate yet. There's still final to be played, what we need to do now is to stay calm, rest and get ready for the title clash," said Aaron.
The world No. 18 fought back from a game down to beat Indonesia's Fajar Alfian-Muhammad Rian Ardianto of Indonesia 12-21, 22-20, 21-19 and became the first Malaysian pair to reach the final since Koo Kien Keat-Tan Boon Heong in 2011.
Two-time world champions Ahsan-Setiawan rolled back the years to outplay Japan's Takeshi Kamura-Keigo Sonoda 21-19, 21-16 in the earlier last four clash.
Aaron-Wooi Yik had lost in all their previous two meetings against the Ahsan-Setiawan with the latest defeat being in the first round of Indonesian Masters in January.
Aaron-Wooi Yik have yet to win a title since they teamed up in November 2017. They have runners-up results to date - Indian International in 2017, Malaysian International, where they lost to Ahsan-Setiawan, Vietnam International and SaarLorLux Open in Germany last year.
If Aaron-Wooi Yik walk away victorious, they will become the eighth different pairs from Malaysia to emerge the men's doubles winners since the tournament inception in 1898.
Besides Kien Keat-Boon Heong, the others who had won previously were David Choong-Eddy Choong (1951-1953), Ooi Teik Hock-Ong Poh Lim (1954), Lim Say Hup-Teh Kew San (1959), Ng Boon Bee-Tan Yee Khan (1965-1966), Boon Bee-Punch Gunalan (1971) and Razif Sidek-Jalani Sidek (1982).
Read more at https://www.thestar.com.my/sport/badminton/2019/03/10/badminton-aaron-wooi-yik-through-to-all-england-final/#lxjlY9hzEoufGuML.99
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