KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 15 — The national men's doubles team of Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik had to find their feet before passing the first hurdle in their mission to defend the Danish Open badminton Championships when they entered the second round of the 2024 edition today.
However, the 2024 Paris Olympic Games bronze medallists had to fight hard in a fierce match for 49 minutes to defeat the Japanese pair of Kenya Mitsuhashi and Hiroki Okamura 28-26, 21-11 at the Jyske Bank Arena.
The win was the third time Chia-Soh have beaten the same foes after previously beating them at the 2024 India Open and the 2024 Asian Badminton Championships.
Yet Chia admitted that even though they are experienced, the long period without a competitive match has made them ‘rusty’ and had to persevere to find the rhythm of their game.
“I think we have been away a long while from tournament play and we are just back. And of course, we can say that we are experienced players but it is been a really long time since we didn't get into the court, and there are still a lot of things to get used to again.
“In the first game, there was a bit of distance between us and our opponent ... not well-worked out," he said in an audio recording shared by the Badminton World Federation today.
Moreover, Soh, who is recovering from a broken toe injury, said a change of strategy in the second set sealed their victory.
“I think we had more variety in the second game (and soon as) we realised in the first few shots, we want to change the angle, and in some shots, we did not want to kill it (for points) so fast. We tried to be patient and it worked. Actually, (after) the first few points of the second game, we just continued with the rhythm,” he said.
In the second round tomorrow, Chia-Soh will meet either fellow countrymen Man Wei Chong-Tee Kai Wun or Callum Hemming-Ethan Van Leeuwen of England.
Meanwhile, the national mixed doubles Goh Soon Huat-Shevon Lai Jemie lost to the French pair of Thom Gicquel-Delphine Delrue 21-9, 22-24, 10-24.
— Bernama
