Iksan City: Malaysia’s top men’s doubles pair, Aaron Chia and Soh Wooi Yik, powered their way into the finals of the Korea Masters Super 300 tournament after a commanding straight-set victory over Taiwan’s Chiu Hsiang Chieh and Wang Chi-Lin on Saturday.
Highlights of Aaron Chia and Soh Wooi Yik vs. Chiu Hsiang Chieh and Wang Chi-Lin in the 2024 Korea Masters semifinals:
In their semifinal showdown at the Iksan Gymnasium, the No. 1 seeds Chia/Soh triumphed 21-17, 21-16 in just 33 minutes. They will now face Korea’s Jin Yong and Kim Won Ho in the final on Sunday.
Earlier in the day, Jin Yong and Kim Won Ho fought back from losing the first set to overcome their compatriots and No. 7 seeds, Kim Dong Ju and Seo Seung Jae, in a thrilling 16-21, 21-19, 21-16 victory.
In men’s singles, the reigning World Champion and top seed Kunlavut Vitidsarn of Thailand made the men’s singles final by defeating India’s Kiran George 21-12, 22-20 in their fourth career meeting.
In the second game, despite holding three match points at 20-17, Kunlavut was pushed into a deuce but managed to close out the match with two consecutive points.
After Saturday’s match, Kunlavut leads their head-to-head record 3-1.
In the final, Kunlavut will face China’s Wang Zheng Xing, who came back from dropping the first game to beat Cho Geonyeop of Korea 9-21, 21-15, 21-10.
The women’s singles semifinal saw China’s Han Qian Xi deliver a stunning upset in the women’s singles, defeating Japan’s top seed Tomoka Miyazaki 21-18, 21-8. She will now take on Indonesia’s second seed, Putri Kusuma Wardani, in the final.
Putri Kusuma Wardani advanced to the title match with a convincing 21-13, 21-13 win over Taiwan’s No. 5 seed Chiu Pin-Chian.
In the mixed doubles semifinals, China’s No. 4 seeds Guo Xinwa and Chen Fanghui edged out their compatriots and top seeds Cheng Xing and Zhang Chi in a nail-biting 16-21, 21-14, 23-21 victory.
They will face Indonesia’s second-seeded duo, Dejan Ferdinansyah/Gloria Emanuelle Widjaja, who cruised past Korea’s Ko Sung Hyun and Eom Hye Won 21-18, 21-7.
In the women’s doubles, Korea’s No. 6 seeds Kim Hye Jeong and Kong Hee Yong defeated their compatriots Kim Bo Ryeong and Kim So Yeong in a hard-fought 21-15, 19-21, 21-11 victory.
They will face China’s No. 2 seeds Li Yi Jing and Luo Xu Min, who secured their final spot with a 21-10, 21-11 win over Indonesia’s No. 3 seeds Febriana Dwipuji Kusuma and Amallia Cahaya Pratiwi.
