KUALA LUMPUR, May 23 — It will be Paris 2024 Olympic Games all over again.
National men’s doubles pair Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik are set to relive their Paris 2024 bronze medal match drama as they face top seeds Kim Astrup-Anders Skaarup Rasmussen from Denmark in a mouthwatering Malaysia Masters 2025 semi-finals showdown at the Axiata Arena in Bukit Jalil tomorrow.
In the last eight tie today, the fifth-seeded Chia-Soh overcame a nervy start, trailing 0-2 early, before shifting into top gear to blast past Denmark’s seventh-seeded pair Rasmus Kjaer-Frederik Sogaard, with a commanding 21-10 win in the opening set.
Down 15-18 in the second game, the 2022 world champions once again showed great resilience as they roared back by picking up three straight points to tie the score 18-18 and slammed the door shut for the Danes with a 21-19 win to book a place in the semis, much to the delight of the home crowd.
On the other hand, the world number one pair Astrup-Rasmussen, who are also the Malaysia Masters defending champions, made their way to the last four as they ousted their compatriots Daniel Lundgaard-Mads Vestergaard 21-16, 22-20.
Commenting on the match, Chia said they had doubts in the second set, which caused them to trail a few times, but were glad to regain momentum and close out the match.
When asked about tomorrow’s action, Soh said they expect another tough match despite having a good head-to-head record, winning eight out of 12 matches previously.
“We know each other well, it does not matter if we win or lose; it is all about how we control our game tomorrow,” he told the press.
In August last year, Chia-Soh defended their Olympic Games bronze medal for a second time in a row when they came from behind to beat Astrup-Rasmussen 16-21, 22-20, 21-19.
— Bernama
