Badminton

'Aaron-Wooi Yik should be ruling the world, not struggling'

KUALA LUMPUR: The men's doubles event lacks dominant pairs, and Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik should take advantage of this instead of faltering on the World Tour, according to former doubles specialist Koo Kien Keat.

Kien Keat, a former Asian Games and All England champion with Tan Boon Heong, pointed out the inconsistent performances of most top 10 pairs, which have allowed South Korean scratch pairings to rise and win titles.

Even world No. 1 Kim Astrup-Anders Skaarup Rasmussen of Denmark and world No. 3 Liang Wei Keng-Wang Chang of China have won only one title each since the Paris Olympics in August.

World No. 5 Aaron-Wooi Yik have also struggled since winning their second Olympic bronze medal in Paris and the Korea Masters title in November.

Wooi Yik's toe surgery during the Paris Games may have slowed their progress, but Kien Keat believes they need to find solutions quickly.

"It is a waste that Aaron-Wooi Yik, being 2022 world champions, are not seizing the opportunity to win titles when other top-10 pairs are inconsistent," said Kien Keat.

"They should be dominating and pushing to become the world No. 1. Chinese pairs are struggling, and other top combinations are also not in top form while South Korea have already begun experimenting with new pairings.

"It's disappointing to see Aaron-Wooi Yik not making the most of this situation," he added.

Aaron-Wooi Yik started the new season by losing the last 16 of the Malaysia Open last week.

At the India Open, the Malaysian lost to South Korea's scratch pair Kim Won Ho-Seo Seung Jae in the semi-finals on Saturday.

Won Ho-Seung Jae have been in devastating form, having also won the season-opening Malaysia Open.

However, Kien Keat commended world No. 2 Goh Sze Fei-Nur Izzuddin Rumsani for their rise since last year, winning three titles, but maintained that Aaron-Wooi Yik should be performing better.

Aaron-Wooi Yik will head to Jakarta next week for the Indonesia Masters as the second seeds. However, Korean Seo Seung Jae will partner Jin Yong, and the duo could pose a threat in the quarter-finals.

Jin Yong-Seung Jae were crowned China Masters champions in November.

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