Former world champions Aaron Chia and Soh Wooi Yik demonstrated their top Malaysian men’s doubles status by overcoming a strong challenge from compatriots Wan Arif Wan Junaidi and Yap Roy King.
The second-seeded pair advanced to the quarter-finals of the 2025 World Championships following an intense three-set battle at Adidas Arena.
Aaron and Wooi Yik started slowly and lost the opening set 18-21 against their determined opponents.
They responded strongly in the second set, winning 21-18 to force a deciding third set.
The rubber set featured tense exchanges with both pairs remaining level at 24-24 before Aaron and Wooi Yik secured victory 26-24 after one hour of competition.
The 2022 champions will next face either Indian ninth seeds Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty or Chinese sixth seeds Liang Wei Keng and Wang Chang.
National women’s doubles pair Pearly Tan and M. Thinaah comfortably advanced to the next round with a straightforward 21-12, 21-11 victory over Indonesia’s Lanny Tria Mayangsari and Siti Fadia Silva Ramadhanti.
Their match lasted just 29 minutes as they dominated from start to finish.
Pearly and Thinaah will meet either Bulgarian sisters Gabriela and Stefani Stoeva or Japanese duo Yuki Fukushima and Mayu Matsumoto for a semi-final place. – Bernama