Paris: The highly anticipated match between World No. 1 Liang Weikeng/Wang Chang of China and World No. 4 Aaron Chia/Soh Wooi Yik of Malaysia took place at Porte de La Chapelle Arena on Monday.
Chia/Soh put up a strong fight in the first set but narrowly lost 22-24. The second set saw Liang/Wang dominate, winning 21-14 and securing their position as group champions. Chia/Soh, finishing as runners-up in Group A, will face the champions from Group B, C, or D in the knockout stage, depending on the redraw.
Early Monday morning, the Danish pair Kim Astrup/Anders Skaarup Rasmussen, who were defeated by Taiwan’s Lee Yang and Wang Chi-Lin on Sunday, rebounded in the men’s doubles group stage at the Paris Olympics. They defeated China’s Ou Xuanyi and Liu Yuchen, ranked 9th in the world, with a score of 21-15, 21-13, bringing their group stage record to 2 wins and 1 loss.
In the highly competitive Group D, also known as the “group of death,” World No. 11 pair Lee Yang and Wang Chi-Lin have so far defeated Japan’s 2021 World Champions Takuro Hoki and Yugo Kobayashi, as well as Denmark’s Astrup and Rasmussen, placing them at the top of the group with a 2-0 record. However, they have not yet secured their spot in the quarterfinals.
Astrup and Rasmussen, ranked 2nd in the world, won their first match against the American pair Vinson Chiu and Joshua Yuan but lost a tough three-game match against Lee and Wang on Sunday.
Ou and Liu have one win and one loss in the group stage, having previously defeated the American pair. Hoki and Kobayashi also have one win and one loss, while Chiu and Yuan have two losses.
Lee Yang and Wang Chi-Lin will next face Chiu and Yuan on the 30th and then Ou and Liu on the 31st. To ensure advancement, they aim to continue their winning streak to avoid any unexpected outcomes.
