Badminton Mens Doubles Pair Aaron Chia and Soh Wooi Yik Reunite with Family, Prepare for Japan and Korea Opens
Jayce
Returning home from a city filled with love, badminton men’s doubles pair Aaron Chia and Soh Wooi Yik are now looking forward to spending quality time with their family.
However, their rest will be brief. The world’s number three duo will soon resume training to prepare for the Japan Open (August 20) and the Korea Open (August 27).
Despite this, they were delighted to reunite with their family after returning from Paris yesterday.
“There are only a few days before we need to start preparing for the next competition, so the rest time is not long,” Aaron said at Kuala Lumpur International Airport, Terminal 1 (KLIA).
Soh Wooi Yik also looks forward to spending time with his family, as he had been away from them for a month before heading to Paris.
“I just want to go home and enjoy this moment with my family, catching up with them. I haven’t seen them for a while. Even before the Paris competition, I was staying at the Badminton Academy of Malaysia (ABM), so I’m grateful to see them,” Soh said.
Aaron feels that returning to Malaysia after the Olympics will rejuvenate him. “I’m happy to be back in Malaysia, and we will gain motivation to move forward,” he said.
Regarding their bronze medal at the Olympics, Soh Wooi Yik stated that despite their best efforts, China’s top-ranked duo, Liang Wei Keng and Wang Chang, won in the semifinals.
“At the Olympics, everyone aims for gold, and we are no different. The competition was intense, and everyone was analyzing each other. They had a better strategy at the crucial moments, and undoubtedly, they remain the best.
“But we did our best, and everything we demanded during training was achieved. We are satisfied with our performance,” he said.
However, Aaron and Soh have a story to share with their grandchildren decades from now—the tale of their dramatic comeback against Danish pair Kim Astrup and Anders Skaarup Rasmussen in the bronze medal match.
After losing the first game, they staged a strong comeback from a 16-20 deficit in the second game to level the score at 20-30 and eventually won the match.
Now, their sights are set on returning to compete for an even more dazzling medal at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. Aaron said preparation needs to start now.
“If we want to compete in Los Angeles, we have room to improve. We have learned a lot from this Olympics, overcome many difficulties, and ultimately won another bronze medal,” he said.
