The Malaysian men’s doubles, Aaron Chia/Soh Wooi Yik are in Group D with the representatives of Indonesia, Hendra Setiawan/Mohammad Ahsan in Tokyo 2020 Olympics. In addition, in group D there are also Korean men’s doubles, Choi Solgyu/Seo Seungjae and Jason Anthony Ho-Shue/Nyl Yakura from Canada.
The draw results that cannot be said to be favorable for Chia/Soh. In seven meetings with Hendra/Ahsan, Chia/Soh only won once at the Fuzhou China Open 2019, with a score of 21-13, 22-20.
In addition to Hendra/Ahsan, Choi/Seo are also opponents to be reckoned with in Group D. The meeting record shows a 2-2 draw for Chia/Soh and Choi/Seo. The last two meetings were won by Chia/Soh through games straight game.
“Our chances are draw, we’ve met the opponents here and the result is win-lose,” said Soh, quoted from The Star.
At the BWF World Tour Finals 2020, Chia/Soh were also in the same group as Hendra/Ahsan and Choi/Seo. At that time Chia / Soh lost to Hendra / Ahsan with rubber game, 21-18, 17-21, 11-21. However, they beat Choi/Seo with a score of 21-14, 21-19.
“This Korean pair are very strong and their counter-attack is good, defense is solid, their shots are consistent and we know it won’t be easy against them,” said Soh.
“Obviously, from statistics, the Indonesian pair is the favorite. But the point is that we have beaten them once,” Soh continued.
Being one of the ‘dark horses’ at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, Chia/Soh are determined to do their best and win the first Olympic gold for the Malaysian team. They want to surpass the results achieved by their seniors, Goh V Shem-Tan Wee Kiong who got silver at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics.
Currently Chia/Soh is being coached by Flandy Limpele, a former Indonesian men’s doubles player who won a bronze medal at the 2004 Athens Olympics with Eng Hian.
“Our coach Flandy will accompany us and provide guidance in dealing with Hendra / Ahsan and other couples. We have a lot of support,” said Soh.
“The most important thing is to be able to play in our pattern and play with confidence. It all depends on us. Now instead of being tense, we are more enthusiastic and try to do well in the Olympics,” he continued.
Even though they have never met Hsue/Yakura, on paper Chia/Soh should be able to overcome the Canadian couple. Chia/Soh are now ranked ninth in the world, while Hsue/Yakura are ranked 32 in the world.
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