THE BEST OF ASIA: AARON CHIA & SOH WOOI YIK (MALAYSIA)
Aaron Chia and Soh Wooi Yik are a Malaysian men’s doubles pair, currently ranked #8 in the world in BWF’s World Ranking. One of the most talented men’s duo, these 2 players recently won a BRONZE medal at the TOKYO 2020 Olympic Games! With this achievement under their belt and others before, they sure are one of Asia’s best!
But before we discuss their journey, let’s take a look at both Chia and Soh’s different partners throughout their careers. In 2014, Chia was partners with Guo Zheng SIM and had competed with him at several tournaments such as the SMILING FISH THAILAND INTERNATIONAL SERIES 2014, GRANULAR - THAILAND JUNIOR INTERNATIONAL 2015, and SCG BADMINTON ASIA JUNIOR CHAMPIONSHIPS 2015. He also was paired with mixed doubles partner Jia Jia TEW and played in tournaments like the SCG BADMINTON ASIA JUNIOR CHAMPIONSHIP 2015 INDIVIDUAL EVENT and also Jinn Hwa TAN. He’s won a silver medal as well with another partner, Wong Wai Jun at the Swiss International in 2016.
Soh on the other hand, had played as a singles player in the early years of his career. He’s also played with Zi Heng OOI in competitions such as the PEMBANGUNAN JAYA RAYA YONEX SUNRISE JUNIOR GRAND PRIX 2016 (UNDER 19) and CELCOM AXIATA MALAYSIA INTERNATIONAL YOUTH U-19 2016. Like Chia, Soh’s also been successful with his other doubles partner. He and Chen Tang Jie won silver at the Malaysia International and Waikato International.
Chia and Soh’s journey together started already in around 2015. They were paired together that year and played at the MAYBANK MALAYSIA INTERNATIONAL YOUTH U-19 2015 and BWF WORLD JUNIOR CHAMPIONSHIPS 2015. However, it wasn’t until 2017 when they started to play more frequently together. That same year they even won their first silver medal together at the Tata Open India International, against Thai pair Maneepong Jongjit/Nanthakarn Yordphaisong.
In 2018 they also won silver at the SaarLorLux Open, and in 2019 were finalists at the All England Open against Indonesian duo Hendra Setiawan/Mohammad Ahsan. But it was this year in 2019 when they finally won gold after so many silvers. At the 2019 Southeast Asian Games held in the Philippines, Chia and Soh defeated Thai pair Bodin Isara/Maneepong Jongjit 18–21, 21–15, 21–16, and became victorious.
Finally, just recently, the Malaysian pair won their most prestigious tournament to date. The duo won the bronze medal in the men's doubles at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo. It was one of 2 medals that the country won in this year’s games. What an amazing achievement for the two men. We’re so excited to see them compete and rise to greater heights!
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