PARIS: The country’s top men’s doubles pair Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik could not crack through the Great Wall of China as they went down fighting against top seeds Liang Wei Keng-Wang Chang in their last group match at the 2024 Paris Olympics, here yesterday.
The 2022 world champions had to settle down as Group A runners-up after losing 22-24, 14-21 to the Chinese pair in their last group match after a 42-minute battle.
The reigning bronze medalists started their campaign in the group by beating world number 18, Ben Lane-Sean Vendy of Great Britain, 19-21, 21-16, 21-11 on Saturday, before defeating Canadians Adam Dong-Nyl Yakura 21-10, 21-15 yesterday to confirm their quarter-final berth.
In last night’s match played at the Porte de La Chapelle Arena, the world number four pair put up a valiant effort in the first game to chase from 15-20 down to level 20-20, but fell short towards the end.
Back into the second set, Wei Keng-Chang, the reigning Asian champions, stayed in control to extend their winning record against the Malaysians to seven in nine matches.
“We were enjoying the match without pressure, we treated it as a practice match as we still have a few more matches to go. Off course, we are hoping to get a different colour of medal (after winning bronze in Tokyo 2020), but we are going to take it step by step,” Aaron said after the match.
Meanwhile, Wooi Yik said playing against the top seeds has always been an uphill task for them, and it is crucial for them to work on the weaknesses ahead of the knockout stage that begins on Thursday.
The defeat means Aaron-Wooi Yik will have a tougher draw in the quarter-finals, as they will be up against one of the group champions.
The draw for the last eight stage would be held after the conclusion of men’s doubles group stage, tomorrow. — BERNAMA
