KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 18 — National men’s doubles pair Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik were knocked out in the semi-finals of the India Open badminton championship after losing to Japan’s Hiroki Midorikawa-Kyohei Yamashita at the Indira Gandhi Sports Complex in New Delhi last night.
The second seeds went down 10-21, 21-13, 11-21 in a 44-minute encounter, marking Aaron-Wooi Yik’s first defeat to the Japanese pair after winning against them in May last year.
Aaron-Wooi Yik struggled to find their rhythm in the opening game as the Japanese pair dictated the tempo with sharp net play and solid defence.
However, the world number two bounced back strongly in the second game after tightening their defence and increasing the pace to force a decider.
The third game saw Midorikawa-Yamashita regain control, opening up an early lead and maintaining their composure to seal the match and book a spot in the final.
