Unforced errors proved costly for national men’s doubles pair Aaron Chia and Soh Wooi Yik as they suffered a disappointing defeat to Japan’s world No. 22 duo Hiroki Midorikawa and Kyohei Yamashita in the India Open semi-finals yesterday.
The world No. 2 Malaysians were hoping to reach back-to-back finals after finishing runners-up at last week’s Malaysian Open, but were unable to lift their level and went down 21-10, 13-21, 21-11 in a 44-minute clash at the Indira Gandhi Sports Complex in New Delhi.
A visibly disappointed Aaron admitted that too many unforced errors in the deciding game ultimately cost them the match.
“After the second game, we were still trying to find our rhythm but we made too many unforced errors in the decider,” Aaron said in a post-match interview with the Badminton World Federation (BWF).
“Our confidence on court was good, but the mistakes created the gap in the scoreline and led to our defeat.”
Wooi Yik added that the playing conditions made it difficult for them to impose themselves offensively.
“We were mostly defending because the shuttle was slow, and it was harder for us to play aggressively,” he said.
The loss marked Aaron-Wooi Yik’s first defeat to the Japanese pair, having beaten them in their only previous meeting at last year’s Thailand Open.
