AARON-WOOI YIK BREEZE INTO LAST EIGHT, CONTROVERSIAL DECISION MARS KHAI XING-AARON EXIT

KUALA LUMPUR, May 22 (Bernama) -- Newly-crowned Thailand Open 2025 champions Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik became the third and the last Malaysian men’s doubles pair to make their way to the last eight of the Malaysia Masters 2025, here, today.

The fourth seeds were simply above Liu Kuang Heng-Yang Po Han and outplayed the unseeded Taiwanese duo 21-13, 21-16, during the second round action of the Super 500 tournament at Axiata Arena, Bukit Jalil, here.

Aaron, who was delighted to check into the next round, said they did not even bother to think about who their next opponent would be and would rather focus on their performance instead.

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The 28-year-old also said the world number three duo's main focus is to maintain their consistency and chasing titles rather than eyeing for number one spot in the world ranking.

“Kalau diberi option, saya rasa menang title, ranking hanya satu number buat kita. World ranking hanya beri small advantage to us tapi better focus pada game kita juga,” he told reporters when met after the match, here.

"If given the option, I think winning the title, ranking is only a number for us. World ranking only gives a small advantage to us but it's better to focus on our game too," he told reporters when met after the match.

Aaron-Wooi Yik, who were world champions in 2022, will face  seventh seeds Rasmus Kjaer-Frederik Sogaard of Denmark who denied an all Malaysian affair in the last eight after beating 2024 world junior champions Kang Khai Xing-Aaron Tai in controversial fashion.

Khai Xing-Aaron nearly stole the spotlight as they came agonisingly close to pulling off a major upset against the seventh seed pair.

The unseeded Malaysian pair pushed the Danes to a thrilling 67-minute rubber-set battle before eventually falling 10–21, 26–24, 16–21.

Tension flared in the decider when the line judge awarded the 15th point to the Danish pair on a call they believed was out, prompting the national men’s doubles head coach Herry Iman Pierngadi to step onto the court to question the umpire, as murmurs of disapproval echoed among the home crowd.

To make matters worse, the world number 58 duo were unable to challenge the call as the review system was only available on Court 1, leaving them with no option but to accept the controversial decision.

A visibly distraught Khai Xing called the umpire's decision as unfair as it had clearly affected them mentally in the game.

"I don't have an answer, the ball was out, say in. I think this experience is not good for us but maybe next time we will be stronger if we face a situation like this," he said.

Meanwhile, another national pair, Choong Hon Jian-Muhammad Haikal Nazri were shown the door by former 2021 world champions from Japan, Takuro Hoki-Hugo Kobayashi, 14-21, 13-21.

While Muhammad Haikal admitted several unforced errors proved costly for them, Hon Jian said they are still finding some consistency despite the Malaysia Masters 2025 being their first second round appearance after exiting in the first round for sixth consecutive tournaments previously since the China Open 2024.

Aaron-Wooi Yik will join second seeds Goh Sze Fei-Nur Izzuddin Rumsani, who will take on fifth seeds Man Wei Chong-Tee Kai Wun, in an all-Malaysian quarter-final tomorrow.

The world number two Sze Fei-Nur Izzuddin qualified for the quarter-finals after eliminating Chen Zhi Ray-Lin Yu Chieh 21-19, 21-13 while Wei Chong-Kai Wun dispatched Japan’s Hiroki Midorikawa-Kyohei Yamashita 21-17, 21-13.

-- BERNAMA