Kuala Lumpur – Fresh off their recent Thailand Open victory, Aaron Chia and Soh Wooi Yik continued their winning form by securing a straight-sets victory in the opening round of the Malaysia Masters 2025 at Axiata Arena, Bukit Jalil, on Wednesday.
The world No. 3 duo overcame Taiwan’s Chiu Hsiang Chieh and Wang Chi Lin 21-18, 21-16 in just 38 minutes, showing no signs of fatigue despite having competed in back-to-back tournaments.
Watch highlights of Aaron Chia/Soh Wooi Yik vs. Wang Chi Lin/Chiu Hsiang Chieh in the first round of Malaysia Masters:
“We’re still recovering from last week’s event, so rest has been limited, but it’s nothing too serious. Our performance was solid, but there’s still room to improve,” Aaron said post-match.
Aaron and Wooi Yik will next face another Taiwanese pair Liu Kuang Heng and Yang Po Han, whom they have never played before. Wooi Yik noted the unpredictability of facing new opponents.
“Facing unfamiliar pairs is always tough. Just like in Thailand, we struggled against a French pair we hadn’t met before. Every match is a battle now—there are no easy wins in men’s doubles,” he added.
Malaysian Men’s Doubles Pairs Advance in Style
It was a strong showing from Malaysia’s men’s doubles squad, with Goh Sze Fei and Nur Izzuddin Rumsani leading the charge. The world No. 2 pair dispatched France’s Eloi Adam and Leo Rossi 21-16, 21-13 in 31 minutes and will next face Taiwan’s Chen Zhi Ray and Lin Yu Chieh for a place in the quarterfinals.
“It’s always been a dream to win in front of the home crowd,” said Izzuddin.
Although pleased with the win, Sze Fei emphasized that improvements are still needed ahead of the next round.
“We’re in a good place, but we’ll meet with our coach to work on some tactical issues,” he said.
In a major upset, Choong Hon Jian and Muhammad Haikal Nazri stunned 8th-seeded Thais Kittinupong Kedren and Dechapol Puavaranukroh 21-15, 21-18, snapping a six-match losing streak in first-round matches.
They now face Japan’s Takuro Hoki and Yugo Kobayashi in the next round.
Meanwhile, Low Hang Yee and Ng Eng Cheong beat Taiwan’s Chiang Chien Wei and Wu Hsuan Yi 21-14, 21-16. They’ll take on the tournament’s top seeds, Denmark’s Kim Astrup and Anders Skaarup Rasmussen, in a highly anticipated clash.
The fifth seeds, Man Wei Chong and Tee Kai Wun, also progressed after a hard-fought 21-15, 23-21 victory over India’s P Krishnamurthy Roy and S Pratheek. They now face Hiroki Midorikawa and Kyohei Yamashita, who defeated fellow Malaysians Wan Arif Wan Junaidi and Yap Roy King 21-11, 22-20.
In qualifying action, former junior world champions Aaron Tai and Kang Khai Xing made it to the main draw after beating compatriots Bryan Jeremy Goonting and Fazriq Razif 21-17, 21-17. Aaron Tai and Kang Khai Xing then continued their momentum in beating last week’s Thailand Open runners-up William Kryger Boe and Christian Faust Kjaer from Denmark in the first round 12-21, 21-11, 21-17. Tai/Kang are set to face another Denmark pair – Rasmus Kjær/Frederik Søgaard next.
