Iksan City: Malaysia’s top men’s doubles pair, Aaron Chia and Soh Wooi Yik, continued their impressive run by securing a spot in the semifinals of the Korea Masters after a straightforward win over South Korea’s Kim Jae Hyeon and Lee Sang Won in Iksan City on Friday.
Playing at the Iksan Gymnasium, the World No. 6 duo needed just 33 minutes to dispatch their South Korean opponents with a 21-17, 21-12 victory.
Highligts of Aaron Chia/Soh Wooi Yik vs. Kim Jae Hyeon/Lee Sang Won in the Korea Masters quarterfinals:
This win provides a significant morale boost for Chia and Soh as they aim to qualify for the 2024 BWF World Tour Finals in Hangzhou, China, next month.
In Saturday’s semifinal, the sole Malaysian representatives in this Super 300 tournament will face Taiwan’s Chiu Hsiang Chieh and Wang Chi-Lin, who battled hard to overcome China’s Xie Hao Nan and Zeng Wei Han 21-12, 16-21, 21-19 in a grueling quarterfinal match.
Wang Chi-Lin/Chiu Hsiang Chieh displayed resilience in their victory over Xie/Zeng. After taking the first game comfortably, they lost the second but ultimately prevailed in the decider. The Taiwanese pair, ranked World No. 76, have had an impressive tournament, previously defeating Vietnam’s Tran Tien Minh/Nguyen Tien Hoang and the fourth-seeded Chinese pair, Chen Bo Yang/Liu Yi, in straight sets.
In the other men’s doubles semifinal, South Korea’s No. 7 seeds Ki Dong Ju/Seo Seung Jae will face their unseeded compatriots Jin Yong/Kim Won Ho.
For the men’s singles semifinals, Thailand’s top seed Kunlavut Vitidsarn will meet India’s Kiran George, while China’s Wang Zheng Xing takes on Korea’s Cho Geonyeop.
