PARIS, Aug 5 – Finally, a medal to cherish for Malaysia at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
National men’s doubles aces Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik clawed their way back from the brink of defeat to overcome Danes Kim Astrup-Anders Skaarup Rasmussen 16-21, 22-20, 21-19 to clinch bronze – Malaysia’s first medal at the Paris Olympics.
The Malaysians, the 2022 world champions, started the match in jittery form and made many unforced errors to give away the first game in the bronze-medal playoff at the Porte de La Chapelle Arena.
Just when the world number three seemed destined for defeat, with Astrup-Rasmussen needing one point to seal victory at 20-16 in the second game, Aaron-Wooi Yik staged a miraculous escape by saving four match points to draw level at 20-20 before surging ahead to win 22-20 and forcing a deciding game.
The rubber game was another nail-biting affair, but the exuberant Aaron-Wooi Yik, showing incredible determination, overcame the challenge from the world number two to defend the bronze they won at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
