Hangzhou: Malaysian badminton duo Aaron Chia/Soh Wooi Yik won bronze after losing in the semi-finals to the world number three pair from India, Satwiksairaj Rankireddy/Chirag Shetty 21-17, 21-12 on Friday.
“There are no excuses, but we were put under a lot of pressure by the Indian pairing today,” Chia said. “We also made a lot of mistakes.”
Soh Wooi Yik believes they have done their best at the Asian Games this time.
“I believe we have shown our best here. We came here to collect the experience of the Asian Games. This defeat will not change anything,” Soh said. “Our focus now is the 2024 Paris Olympics. Disappointed with the result here, but we will continue to work hard.”
The Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) set a goal of winning three medals at the Hangzhou Asian Games, but in the end, they only brought home one medal.
However, the BAM should probably thank Chia/Soh for saving the day.
“As I just said, this is not enough for us. We still hope to win more, including the BWF World Tour level competition,” said Chia.
The Xie-Su combination defeated Chinese Taipei’s Lu Ching Yao/Yang Po Han in the first round, defeated the Thai pair Supak Jomkoh/Kittinupong Kedren in the second round, and eliminated the Chinese World No. 6 pair Liu Yuchen/Ou Xuanyi in the quarter-finals. They have overcome many difficulties before reaching the semi-finals.
However, the loss to Satwiksairaj Rankireddy/Chirag Shetty in the semifinals on Friday was their second defeat in the 10th meeting between the two pairs and their second consecutive defeat.
“Our strategy did not work well and there were many unforced errors. The opponent put a lot of pressure on us in terms of serving and receiving. We also tried in the second game, but there was also a lot of pressure from them,” said Chia.
“I feel pressure in terms of strategy. If we look at doubles, serving and receiving is very important. If we can handle it well, we can have an advantage in the game. They have an advantage in this aspect today.”
Despite the loss, the Xie-Su combination enjoyed their first Asian Games journey.
“We enjoyed our first Asian Games, we made it to the semi-finals, we learned a lot, we just didn’t perform well in one game, but that doesn’t mean our standards have dropped,” said Su Weiyi. “We still hope to continue our current state and improve from it. There are many competitions ahead. We know our next goal, which is to qualify for the Olympics.”
Satwiksairaj Rankireddy/Chirag Shetty will play Choi Sol Gyu/Kim Won Ho for the gold medal while Lee Yang/Wang Chi-Lin will share the bronze medal alongside Chia/Soh.
In men’s singles, Shi Yuqi of China surprisingly eked out an easy semi-final match against Kodai Naraoka by winning 21-5, 21-15. Shi will take on compatriot Li Shi Feng after Li saw off HS Prannoy 21-16, 21-9.
