MALAYSIA'S FIRST GOLD MEDAL IN OLYMPICS 2021

 

TOKYO (July 31): The wait is finally over.

National men’s doubles shuttlers Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik bagged the bronze for Malaysia’s first medal at the Tokyo Olympics after more than a week since the Games officially opened on July 23. Aaron-Wooi Yik took 52 minutes to edge Indonesians Mohammad Ahsan-Hendra Setiawan 17-21, 21-17, 21-14 in the bronze medal match at the Musashino Forest Sport Plaza.

KUALA LUMPUR, July 30 — Malaysia’s top badminton men’s doubles pair lost in straight sets to their Chinese opponents tonight in the semi-finals stage of the men’s doubles at the Tokyo Olympics.

Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik lost 24-22, 21-13 to China’s Li Jun Hui- Liu Yu Chen in 42 minutes at the Musashino Forest Sports Plaza.



1. They started playing together for Malaysia since 2015

Aaron Chia and Soh Wooi Yik started representing Malaysia internationally as a pair in when they were partnered together in November that year for the 2016 World Junior Championships.

Chia became a part of the national badminton team in 2015 after his international debut in 2014 in the Indonesia International Series. Soh’s international debut was earlier than Chia, when he participated in the 2012 Smiling Fish International Series. However, he was only recruited into the national team in 2017.

2. They won their first and only gold medal in bdminton at the SEA Games

Although they rank top 10 in thaworld, they won their first and only gold medal at the 2019 SEA Games held in the Philippines.

In the finals, they played against Thailand’s Bodin Isara and Maneepong Jongjit. They lost the first set of the game by three points, scoring 18–21, but they did not hold back. They continued to deliver the best game and conquered the next two sets with scores of 21–15 and 21–16.

 


3. They are ranked in the top 10 for men’s doubles globally

Chia and Soh currently rank 8th in the world for badminton men’s doubles

What’s even more interesting about this is that as of now, they are the only men’s doubles pair from Malaysia in the top 10. They are also 29th in the men’s doubles world tour ranking.

So far, out of the 134 matches that they have played, they have won a total of 82 and lost 52.

 

4.They have been finishing 2nd in most of their previous matches

Chia and Soh have finished in second place in most of the international competitions they have participated in. They have won multiple silver medals medals and second place in tournaments.

Some of the competitions are the BWF SaarLorLux Open in 2018 against Marcus Ellis and Chris Langridge from England, the 2018 Malaysia International and the 2019 All England Open against Mohammad Ahsan and Hendra Setiawan from Indonesia.

They have also played against Maneepong Jongjit and Nanthakarn Yordphaisong from Thailand in the 2018 Vietnam International, finishing at second place.

 


It’s great to see that Malaysia is continuing its legacy in badminton with the next generation of players such as Chia and Soh, both of whom have come a long way in the sport with their hard work and dedication. We wish them all the best for their upcoming matches at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. Hopefully, they will make it to the finals and bring home Malaysia’s first ever gold medal. 

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