China Masters: Wooi Yik and Aaron Tai make winning start

Soh Wooi Yik and Aaron Tai began their China Masters campaign with a three-game win over Japan’s Hiroki Okamura and Kyohei Yamashita in Guangdong.

The new Malaysian partnership needed 48 minutes to win 18-21, 21-12, 21-15 and move into the last 16. Their next opponents will be China’s Chen Bo Yang and Liu Yi, the world No. 10 pair.

Mixed doubles pair Goh Soon Huat and Shevon Jemie Lai also advanced after defeating the United States’ Chen Zhi Yi and Francesca Corbett 21-14, 21-19 in 30 minutes. They will face Japan’s Akira Koga and Natsu Saito, ranked 21st in the world.

The tournament also brought early exits for two Malaysian men’s doubles and singles contenders. World No. 6 Goh Sze Fei and Nur Izzuddin Mohd Rumsani retired after 18 minutes, following a 21-16 first-game loss to Indonesia’s Ali Faathir Rayhan and Devin Artha Wahyudi. Izzuddin was reportedly dealing with an injury or illness.

Leong Jun Hao lost 21-17, 21-19 to world No. 1 Jonatan Christie in 44 minutes. “At the end of the game in the second set, I failed to take my chances. I managed to lead by several points, but I thought too much about how to finish the game,” Jun Hao told a Badminton World Federation representative after the match.

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At the end of the game in the second set, I failed to take my chances. I managed to lead by several points, but I thought too much about how to finish the game.