UALA LUMPUR, May 22 — Malaysia are guaranteed a representative in the men’s doubles final of the Malaysia Masters after national pairs Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik and Goh Sze Fei-Nur Izzuddin Mohd Rumsani booked a mouth-watering all-Malaysian semi-final clash tomorrow.
Playing at the Unifi Arena,here, today Aaron-Wooi Yik cruised past China’s Hu Ke Yuan-Lin Xian Yi 21-14, 21-15 in just 35 minutes to secure their place in the last four.
Speaking about tomorrow’s encounter, Aaron admitted it would be a difficult battle but was pleased that Malaysia will have at least one pair in the final.
“I think it’s definitely going to be a tough game tomorrow. But the most important thing is that Malaysia will have one men’s doubles pair in the final,” he said after the match.
On paper, Aaron-Wooi Yik appears to hold the upper hand heading into the semi-final, having won six of their previous eight meetings against Sze Fei-Izzuddin.
Meanwhile, Sze Fei-Nur Izzuddin were forced to dig deep before overcoming Japan’s eighth seeds Kakeru Kumagai-Hiroki Nishi 21-17, 16-21, 21-16 in a gripping 53-minute quarter-final battle.
Sze Fei credited the home crowd for playing a crucial role in the victory, saying the vocal support from the fans helped pile pressure on the Japanese pair throughout the match.
Nur Izzuddin admitted it was a tough encounter but was pleased that they managed to find a way past the resilient Kumagai-Nishi duo.
Looking ahead to tomorrow’s semi-final, Nur Izzuddin said they would focus on their own game and be ready to take on whoever stands in their way next.
Earlier this morning, fifth seeds Wan Arif Wan Junaidi-Yap Roy King booked their place in the last four after ousting American pair Chen Zhi Yi-Presley Smith 21-15, 21-19 in 33 minutes.
The Malaysia Masters 2026, a Super 500 tournament, runs until May 24 and offers a total prize purse of USD500,000 (RM1.98 million).
