The World Tour Finals once again proved to be a stumbling block for men’s doubles pair Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik, as the Malaysians failed to progress beyond the group stage of the season-ending tournament.
The former 2022 world champions suffered a 21-17, 18-21, 15-21 defeat to India’s Satwiksairaj Rankireddy-Chirag Shetty in their decisive Group B clash on Friday, a result that ended their semi-final hopes. Needing a straight-games win to advance, Aaron-Wooi Yik were pushed into a three-game battle before falling short.
The loss saw the Malaysians finish third in the group with one point, while Rankireddy-Chirag topped the standings with three points alongside China’s Liang Weikeng-Wang Chang.
Aaron insisted that pressure was not the main issue, stressing that the pair tried to stay composed and play aggressively throughout the match. Wooi Yik added that the second game proved crucial and that they took valuable lessons from the encounter.
Despite six unsuccessful attempts to reach the semi-finals since 2019, the duo remain encouraged by their progress this year. With the World Tour Finals marking their last tournament of the season, Aaron-Wooi Yik will now shift focus to the Malaysian Open in January as they look to start the new year on a stronger note.
