KUCHING: Malaysia’s top men’s doubles pair, Aaron Chia and Soh Wooi Yik, have finally secured their maiden Badminton Asia Championships (BAC) title, triumphing in hostile territory with a straight-games win over China’s Chen Boyang and Liu Yi today.
With a perfect win record throughout their stint, the world No. 6 duo displayed exceptional poise and power to silence the home crowd in Ningbo, clinching a 21-19, 21-17 victory in a 46-minute final.
The win marks their first title of the year and ends a dry spell stretching back to the Korea Masters in November 2024.
This is also Aaron-Wooi Yik’s first gold medal at the continental championship, having previously come up short on several occasions.
Their best finish before this came in 2022, when they claimed a silver medal after losing to Indonesia’s Fajar Alfian and Muhammad Rian Ardianto in the final.
In 2023, they suffered a shock early exit, falling in the round of 16, while in 2021, they reached the quarter-finals before bowing out to China’s He Ji Ting and Tan Qiang.
In this year’s edition, the Malaysians stormed back into form, dispatching top seeds, Liang Wei Keng and Wang Chang, in the semi-finals before taking out the 16th-ranked Chen and Liu in their third victory over the pair in four meetings.
Their BAC campaign marks a significant turnaround after a disappointing start to the 2025 season, which had seen them exit in the early rounds of multiple tournaments.
The win also cements their come-back into the main meta of the sport – pegging the pair once more as one of the region’s most resilient pairings heading into the Olympic stretch.
Aaron and Wooi Yik will each receive a gold medal and a share of the USD37,000 (RM163,716) prize purse.
Under the BAC format, only champions receive gold, runners-up take silver, and both losing semi-finalists are awarded bronze.
As the morning dew illuminates the day, Aaron-Wooi Yik are set to receive a hero’s welcome once the dynamic duo are back home.
