National Men’s doubles team’s dream of final ends

KUALA LUMPUR: The national men’s doubles team’s quest for revenge against the top-ranked Chinese pair, Liang Wei Keng-Wang Chang, ended in disappointment as they lost 19-21, 21-15, 17-21 in the semifinals of the Paris Olympics earlier today.

According to Berita Harian, Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik, who were previously defeated in their last Group A match on Monday, had to once again concede to Wei Keng-Chang’s strength at Porte de La Chapelle Arena, despite delivering their best performance.

Both pairs started the first set cautiously before the competition heated up midway through the match.

Wei Keng-Chang managed to pull ahead, but Wooi Yik came back more aggressively to level the score at 11.

The lead was short-lived as the Chinese pair regained the advantage, with Aaron-Wooi Yik closing the gap with more aggressive play.

The back-and-forth exchange continued until the 19th point, when Wei Keng-Chang secured the first set with a score of 21-19.

In the second set, Aaron-Wooi Yik, ranked third in the world, took the lead as Wei Keng-Chang began making frequent mistakes.

Aaron-Wooi Yik capitalized on this opportunity and ended the second set with a score of 21-15, forcing a decisive third set.

The deciding set saw Aaron-Wooi Yik maintain their momentum as both pairs exchanged points, making the atmosphere increasingly tense and thrilling.

Wei Keng-Chang showcased their prowess as the top world pair by leading the match and ultimately winning the deciding set 21-17.

However, Aaron-Wooi Yik still have the chance to match their achievement at Tokyo 2020 when they are scheduled to compete in the bronze medal match against either Denmark’s Kim Astrup-Anders Skaarup Rasmussen or Taiwan’s Lee Yang-Wang Chi-lin this Sunday.

For the record, Aaron-Wooi Yik won the bronze medal at Tokyo 2020 after defeating the experienced Indonesian pair, Mohamad Ahsan-Hendra Setiawan, 17-21, 21-17, 21-14.