MALAYSIA’S top men’s doubles pair Aaron Chia and Soh Wooi Yik have advanced to the semi-finals of the China Masters 2025 after a hard-fought victory.
The former world champions displayed impressive composure to defeat Indonesia’s Leo Rolly Carnando and Bagas Maulana in straight sets.
They secured a 21-19, 21-18 victory at the Shenzhen Arena to book their place in the final four.
Aaron and Wooi Yik will now face their arch rivals Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty from India in tomorrow’s semi-final.
The Malaysian pair holds a dominant 11-4 head-to-head record against the Indian duo.
Meanwhile, the national women’s doubles pair of Pearly Tan and M. Thinaah suffered a heartbreaking quarter-final exit.
They lost a gruelling 88-minute encounter against South Korea’s Baek Ha Na and Lee So Hee.
The Malaysian pair fought valiantly but ultimately fell 21-23, 21-19, 20-22 in a tightly contested match.
The result levels their head-to-head record against the Korean pair at 3-3.
Pearly described the match as a test of mental endurance rather than physical capability.
She acknowledged that both teams were physically tired after some gruelling rallies during the match.
The Malaysian star admitted they made crucial errors and rushed their play at match point.
Thinaah credited their Korean opponents for showing greater composure during the decisive moments of the match.
She acknowledged that the Koreans demonstrated better mental strength towards the end of the encounter. – Bernama
