Kuala Lumpur: Malaysia’s reigning men’s doubles world champions, Aaron Chia/Soh Wooi Yik are no strangers to tough competition. They continued to show their dedication and hard work as they are preparing for the 2023 Badminton Asia Championships (BAC) which will take place in Dubai, United Arab Emirates from April 25 to April 30.
The current World No. 2 men’s pair from Malaysia who lost to Indonesia’s World No. 11 Leo Rolly Carnando/Daniel Marthin 18-21, 21-14, 13-21 in the 2023 All-England first round, was drawn to face the same Indonesian pair again in the first round of BAC.
If they advance, they could potentially play the Tokyo Olympic champions Lee Yang/Wang Chi-Lin in the second round and World No. 7 Liang Wei Keng/Wang Chang from China in the quarter-finals.
In 2022, Chia/Soh went all the way to the final of the BAC before losing to Pramudya Kusumawardana/Yeremia Rambitan of Indonesia 21-23, 10-21.
Despite their recent setbacks in the European tournaments, the 2023 BAC will be a crucial opportunity for Aaron Chia and Soh Wooi Yik to improve their game before the Olympic qualifiers begin in May.
In addition to Chia/Soh, Malaysia’s World No. 8 independent men’s pair Ong Yew Sin/Teo Ee Yi will open against World No. 27 M.R. Arjun/Dhruv Kapila of India. If they make it through both the first and second rounds, they are expected to play against All-England champions and World No. 1 Fajar Alfian/Rian Ardianto of Indonesia in the quarter-finals.
Another Malaysian men’s pair – World No. 28 Man Wei Chong/Tee Kai Wun will play Thailand’s Chaloempon Chaloernkitamorn-Nanthakarn Yordphaisong in the first round and are expected to face former world champions Takuro Hoki/Yugo Kobayashi of Japan in the second round.
