ALL ENGLAND 2026: AARON-WOOI YIK’S TITLE CHARGE FIZZLES OUT AFTER BRIGHT START

KUALA LUMPUR, March 9 (Bernama) -- Third time’s not the charm for Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik, after all.

The Malaysian pair crumbled when it mattered most to lose 21-18, 12-21, 19-21 to South Korea’s Kim Won Ho-Seo Seung Jae in the men’s doubles final of the All England Badminton Championships in Birmingham on Sunday (early Monday morning Malaysian time).

And the defeat, after a 63-minute titanic struggle, also denied Malaysia the chance to end the country’s 19-year wait for the men’s doubles crown in the world’s oldest badminton tournament.

But the night at the Utilita Arena Birmingham began promisingly for Malaysia as Aaron-Wooi Yik started brightly, showing superb athleticism to take the first game in 19 minutes, sealing the winning point with a flurry of smashes.

The second game, however, was the South Koreans all the way as they led from start to finish to seal a 21-12 win in 18 minutes and force the decider.

The rubber game again saw the Malaysians starting strongly, never relinquishing the lead until both pairs were level at 16-all.

However, once the Koreans went 17-16 ahead, they never let up and it was the Malaysians who had to play catch-up.

With the South Koreans leading 20-17, the Malaysians gave their fans a glimmer of hope when they made it 19-20.

But it proved to be a false dawn as the Koreans sealed the winning point to clinch the All England title for a second successive year.

As for Aaron-Wooi Yik, it’s the third time they have ended up being All England runners-up, having suffered a similar fate in the 2019 and 2024 editions.

For the record, Koo Kien Keat-Tan Boon Heong were the last Malaysians to win the men’s doubles title at the Super 1000 tournament in 2007, when they pulled off a major upset by defeating then world number one Cai Yun-Fu Haifeng of China.

Meanwhile, as champions, Won Ho-Seung Jae pocketed USD107,300 (about RM423,466), while Aaron-Wooi Yik took home USD50,750 (about RM200,288).

-- BERNAMA