Malaysia Open 2026: Aaron-Wooi Yik Through To Semis, Last Men Standing For Malaysia

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 9 (Bernama) -- When everyone fell, they kept the Malaysian flag flying.

The national men’s top doubles pair Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik are the only Malaysians left standing at the Malaysia Open 2026 after storming into the semi-finals at the Axiata Arena, Bukit Jalil, here today.

The second seeded Aaron-Wooi Yik sealed a spot in tomorrow’s semi-final, taking just 34 minutes to see off Indonesia’s Sabar Karyaman Gutama-Moh Reza Pahlevi Isfahani, during their quarter-final action, today.

After edging the eighth seeds in the opening set 19-21, the world number two pair turned on the style in the second set, racing to an 11-2 lead before stamping their dominance to walk away with a 21-10 victory, much to the delight of the home crowd.

The result was made even sweeter as it marked Aaron-Wooi Yik’s first victory over the world number eight pair after suffering three consecutive defeats previously and marched to their first semi-finals at the Malaysia Open since the 2022 edition.

Awaiting the 2022 world champions next are another Indonesian combination, Fajar Alfian-Muhammad Shohibul Fikri, after the sixth seeds stunned India’s third-seeded duo Satwiksairaj Rankireddy-Chirag Shetty 21-10, 23-21 in straight sets.

Speaking after the match, Aaron said they did not dwell on their unfavourable head-to-head record against Sabar-Moh Reza and credited the home supporters for inspiring them to raise their level on court.

“We just fought and did not think about the head-to-head record. Thank you to the fans who supported us, especially in the first set, they made us more confident,” he said.

Wooi Yik, on the other hand, hopes to maintain their momentum and become the first local pair to reach the Malaysia Open final in 12 years, since Goh V Shem-Lim Khim Wah last featured in and won the title in 2014.

The fifth seeds Wei Chong-Kai Wun, meanwhile, fell 14-21, 17-21 to South Korea’s top seeds Kim Won Ho-Seo Seung Jae in 41 minutes.

Kai Wun conceded that a series of unforced errors proved costly, a lapse that ultimately extended their winless streak against the world number one pair to six matches.

Earlier, reigning mixed doubles world champions and fourth seeds Chen Tang Jie-Toh Ee Wei were stunned by seventh seeds from Hong Kong Tang Chun Man-Tse Ying Suet, 17-21, 21-17, 10-21 in 67 minutes.

-- BERNAMA