KUALA LUMPUR: National top men’s doubles pair Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik’s first-round exit at the Orleans Masters on Wednesday has raised concerns over their form and future participation in the All-England.
The shocking defeat has reignited fears over Aaron’s condition, as he was previously reported to have suffered a right hand injury.
Competing at the Palais des Sports in Orleans, France, second seeds Aaron-Wooi Yik fell 18-21, 18-21 to China’s Sun Wenjun-Zhu Yijun despite recently receiving guidance from Indonesia’s experienced coach Herry Iman Pierngadi.
The defeat was particularly disappointing as the Chinese pair were ranked 58th in the world and had to come through the qualifiers before reaching the main draw.
National coaching director Rexy Mainaky admitted that Aaron was still struggling with his injury, which affected his performance.
“Aaron was not at his best during the match. Hopefully, his injury will heal in the next few days,” said Rexy briefly when contacted.
Aaron-Wooi Yik are regarded as strong contenders for the All-England in Birmingham starting on Tuesday. A title win would end Malaysia’s 18-year wait since Koo Kien Keat-Tan Boon Heong triumphed in 2007.
Aaron-Wooi Yik, runners-up in 2019 and 2024, are set to face Denmark’s Rasmus Kjaer-Frederik Sogaard in the first round.
Man Wei Chong-Tee Kai Wun also suffered a first-round setback when they lost 16-21, 14-21 to South Korea’s Kim Won-ho-Seo Seung-jae.
Meanwhile, Lee Zii Jia, making his first appearance of the year, was pushed to three games by Taiwan’s Chi Yu-jen before securing a 17-21, 21-17, 21-17 victory to set up a clash with K. Srikanth of India in the second round.
It was a different story for Cheam Jun Wei as he lost 20-22, 15-21 to second seed Lin Chun-yi of Taiwan.
In the women’s doubles, Pearly Tan-M. Thinaah put up a strong performance, comfortably defeating Taiwan’s Nicole Gonzales Chan-Lin Chih-chun 25-23, 21-8. They face South Korea’s Jeong Na-eun-Lee Yeon-woo next.
In the mixed doubles, Chen Tang Jie-Toh Ee Wei got off to a winning start by beating India’s Ashith Surya-Amrutha Pramuthesh 21-10, 21-15 but were unable to maintain their fine form as they fell to Rehan Kusharjanto-Gloria Widjaja from Indonesia in the second round, losing 8-21, 17-21 in just 33 minutes.
Sixth seeds Hoo Pang Ron-Cheng Su Yin will face Taiwan’s Lu Ming-che-Hung En-tzu next after getting past Germany’s Jones Jansen-Thuc Phuong Nguyen 21-17, 21-15 in the opener. The challenge, however, has ended for Wong Tien Ci-Lim Chiew Sien.
