SEA GAMES: AARON-WOOI YIK DENIED SECOND GOLD

From Amiril Muttaqien Meketar

BANGKOK, Dec 14 (Bernama) -- National top men’s doubles pair Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik fell short in their bid to clinch a second SEA Games badminton gold after going down to Indonesia’s Sabar Karyaman Gutama-Moh Reza Pahlevi Isfahani in the final of the 2025 edition in Pathum Thani, Thailand, today.

The top-seeded Malaysians were once again undone by the third-seeded Indonesians, suffering their fourth defeat in five meetings against Sabar Karyaman-Moh Reza at at Gymnasium 4, Thammasat University Rangsit Campus.

The 2022 world champions struggled to settle early and were unable to contain the pressure from their opponents, conceding the opening game 14-21.

In the second game, both pairs were tied at 10-10 before the 2019 edition champions faltered under sustained pressure, allowing the Indonesians to pull away and seal the gold with a 21-17 win in 44 minutes after Wooi Yik’s return drifted long.

Speaking after the match, Aaron admitted they committed too many mistakes and acknowledged the growing consistency of their opponents.

“To play against them is not easy, we have to study their game further. Losing is a losing, we have to bounce back as there is one more tournament this yeat (World Tour Finals 2025),” he told reporters.

The result saw the Malaysian badminton squad conclude their campaign at the 33rd edition of the biennial Games with one gold, two silver and six bronze medals.

Although the haul surpassed the seven-medal target set by the Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM), the team fell short of the earlier aim of winning four gold medals.

National top women’s doubles pair Pearly Tan-M. Thinaah saved the blushes for Malaysia by delivering the country’s only gold, surviving an 86-minute marathon before subduing Indonesia’s Febriana Dwipuji Kusuma-Meilysa Trias Puspitasari 21-16, 19-21, 21-17.

The SEA Games Thailand 2025 is taking place from Dec 9 to 20 across two provinces in Bangkok and Chonburi.

-- BERNAMA