Reunited Aaron-Wooi Yik clear 1st round at Denmark Open

 The world No 4 Malaysian duo defeat Japan's 8th-ranked pair Takuro Hoki-Yugo Kobayashi 21-19, 14-21, 21-11 to advance to the second round.

This is Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik’s first World Tour event since June, when they were split for experimental pairings. (EPA Images pic)

PETALING JAYA:

Men’s doubles shuttlers Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik, who were split for four months, returned to the World Tour badminton scene with a hard-fought win over top Japanese pair Takuro Hoki-Yugo Kobayashi in the first round of the Denmark Open.

World No 4 Aaron-Wooi Yik took 51 minutes to overcome their eighth-ranked rivals 21-19, 14-21, 21-11 at the SJF Bank Arena in Odense, Denmark, in the World Tour Super 750 championships early this morning.

Aaron-Wooi Yik were split by the Badminton Association of Malaysia in June as part of an experiment to find new combinations ahead of the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles.

They reunited at the World Championships in August as they had qualified as a pair, and finished runners-up at the event.

Aaron-Wooi Yik, who were first-round casualties last year, will face either newly crowned Arctic Open champions and compatriots Aaron Tai-Yap Roy King or South Korea’s world No 11 Kang Min Hyuk-Lee Jong Min in the second round tomorrow.

Meanwhile, women’s singles world No 27 player K Letshanaa crashed out in the first round, losing to Denmark’s 12th-ranked shuttler Line Christophersen 8-21, 18-21 in 32 minutes.

Malaysia’s other men’s and mixed doubles pairs will be in action tonight.

Mixed doubles pair Hoo Pang Ron-Lai Pei Jing made it to the second round yesterday while men’s singles shuttler Leong Jun Hao was bundled out in his opener. - FMT