KUALA LUMPUR: Men's pair Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik face yet another early exit at the World Tour Finals in Hangzhou after succumbing to their second consecutive defeat in their group today.
The world No. 3 paid a heavy price for squandering two glorious opportunities, including a match point in the rubber game against China's Ou Xuan Yi-Liu Yu Chen, as they lost 19-21, 21-18, 22-20 in an epic 76-minute clash.
Aaron-Wooi Yik had only themselves to blame after a lapse of concentration paved the way for Xuan Yi-Yu Chen, the defending champions, to claw back from 12-7 behind and claim the second game.
Fortunately, all is not lost for Aaron-Wooi Yik as Japan's Takuro Hoki-Yugo Kobayashi, whom they lost to in the Group A opener on Wednesday, were beaten 23-21, 21-17 by China's world No. 1 Liang Wei Keng-Wang Chang.
This leaves the race for the second place open ahead of the third and final group fixture, where Aaron-Wooi Yik face a must-win situation against Wei Keng-Wang Chang.
Even if they manage to pull it off, Aaron-Wooi Yik will still need a favor from Xuan Yi-Yu Chen, who have already qualified after securing two wins, including one against their compatriots, to overcome Hoki-Kobayashi.
The Badminton World Federation's General Competition Regulations state that "if three or more pairs have won the same number of matches, ranking will be established by the difference between total games won and total games lost, with a greater difference ranked higher.
In the event it still leaves two pairs equal, the winner of the match between them will be ranked higher.
Aaron-Wooi Yik are currently placed last in the four-pair standings without a win, but they had won two games against four conceded (2-4).
With one point each, Wang Chang-Wei Keng (3-2) and Hoki Kobayashi (2-3) are second and third respectively.
Despite the odds stacked against them, Aaron is not prepared to give up without a fight. "I think our performance today was good, but luck was not on our side. Even though we led in the second set, we made a lot of easy mistakes afterward. Our opponents were clearer in what they wanted to do," he said.
"There is still one more match tomorrow, and we will give our best to secure a victory."
Meanwhile, Wooi Yik reflected on the valuable lessons gained from the two group stage defeats.
"Undoubtedly, we learn from each match, especially considering they are the world's top pair and will be our opponents in the future. It's a crucial learning experience for us," he stressed.
For the record, Aaron-Wooi Yik have never cleared the group stage in all their previous three appearances.