KUALA LUMPUR, March 10 — National men’s doubles coach Paulus Firman describes the achievement of Aaron Chia-Soh Woi Yik in the 2019 All-England championship so far as extraordinary.
He himself was shocked with outstanding performance shown by the young pair who only targeted the quarter-finals.
“It was exceptional as my initial target was only the quarter-finals,” he said when contacted by Bernama.
The pair became the first Malaysian men’s doubles combination to reach the All-England final after Koo Kien Keat-Tan Boon Heong in 2011.
Aaron-Wooi Yik are now just one step away from ending a 12-year All-England drought after Koo-Boon Heong last took the title in 2007.
In the semi-finals early this morning Malaysian time, Aaron-Wooi Yik beat Indonesia’s Fajar Alfian-Muhammad Rian Ardianto 12-21, 22-20, 21-19.
It was nerve-racking encounter, as the national pair had to give all they have to force the match into the rubber after losing 12-21 in the first set.
Bouncing back in the second set, Aaron-Wooi Yik appeared to have found the inspiration from the coach and clinched the second set 22-20 before prevailing 21-19 in the decider.
“I only told them to stay calm and change their game strategy,” said the coach from Indonesia.
After defeating Taiwan’s Lu Ching Yao-Yang Po Han in the first round, Aaron-Wooi Yik began their giant-killing act when they packed off 5th seeds Kim Astrup-Anders Skaarup Rasmussen of Denmark to reach the quarter-finals.
They then went on to slay China’s Wang Yulyi-Zhang Nan in the quarter-finals followed by Fajar-Muhammad Rian in the semi-finals.
The final is scheduled to start at 8pm Malaysian time. — Bernama
