KUALA LUMPUR, June 19 — Malaysia’s men’s doubles shake-up has sparked whispers of a fallout between Aaron Chia and Soh Wooi Yik, but national coach Herry Iman Pierngadi has moved quickly to shut down the speculation.
According to national daily The Star, Herry insisted there is no bad blood between the country’s top men’s doubles pair, saying the decision to separate them is purely a tactical move aimed at reviving their fortunes after an underwhelming run of results.
“For me, splits in doubles are normal. It happens in other countries too. There is no fight or disagreement. Aaron and Wooi Yik are fine,” Herry was quoted as saying by The Star.
“It’s just that the results this year have not been good enough.”
The reshuffle comes despite Chia and Soh remaining Malaysia’s No. 1 men’s doubles pair.
While they reached the finals of the Malaysian Open in January and the prestigious All England in March, they have been unable to get their hands on a trophy since winning the Singapore Open in June last year, with The Star reporting that the prolonged title drought prompted the coaching staff to explore new partnerships.
Herry said the changes were made after discussions with the management, with the coaching team deciding it was time to take a calculated risk rather than persist with combinations that had stalled.
“After discussions with the management, we felt the results have not been good enough, so why not try something new? If the results continue like this, we have to be brave enough to make changes,” he said, according to The Star.
“That is what we want to try over the next few tournaments and then see the outcome. With every change, there will be people who agree and people who don’t, but we have to give it a try.”
Under the new arrangements, The Star reported that Chia will eventually partner Tee Kai Wun. However, because the new pairing does not yet have sufficient world ranking points to qualify for the bigger tournaments, Chia will temporarily join forces with Aaron Tai, while Tee will team up with Yap Roy King.
Elsewhere, Wan Arif Wan Junaidi will partner Kang Khai Xing, with the new duo expected to make their debut at the China Open next month.
Soh, meanwhile, has been paired with Man Wei Chong, and the pair are set to play together for the first time at the Japan Open.
The split marks the latest chapter for one of Malaysia’s most successful men’s doubles partnerships. Chia and Soh famously captured the country’s first-ever badminton world title at the 2022 BWF World Championships before successfully defending their crown in 2023. They also claimed an Olympic bronze medal at the Paris Games, cementing their place among Malaysia’s elite pairs.
