Jakarta: Aaron Chia/Soh Wooi Yik became the sole Malaysian representatives left at the 2023 Indonesia Open as the 2022 World Champions from Malaysia defeated 2022 Asian Champions Pramudya Kusumawardana/Yeremia Erich Yoche Yacob Rambitan of Indonesia in the semi-finals on Saturday.
Highlights of Aaron Chia/Soh Wooi Yik vs. Pramudya Kusumawardana/Yeremia Erich Yoche Yacob Rambitan in the 2023 Indonesia Open semi-finals:
After dropping the first game 12-21, Chia/Soh were trailing 19-20 in the second game. Both pairs then were engaged in 50 back-and-forth shots – the longest rally of the match, and Rambitan failed to return the shots from Chia to allow Chia/Soh to level the score at 20-20 and went on to win the second game 23-21. The Malaysian pair ultimately defeated the home pair 21-13 in the decider to march into the final.
Post-game interview by Aaron Chia/Soh Wooi Yik:
Chia/Soh will face India’s Satwiksairaj Rankireddy/Chirag Shetty for a chance to win their first-ever world tour championship since their partnership started in 2017.
Rankireddy/Shetty saw off Kang Min Hyuk/Seo Seung Jae of Korea 17-21, 21-19, 21-18 in the other semi-finals.
In the women’s doubles semi-finals, Yuki Fukushima/Sayaka Hirota defeated teammates and two-time world champions Mayu Matsumoto/Wakana Nagahara 21-16, 12-21, 21-13; In another women’s doubles semis, Baek Ha Na/Lee So Hee beat compatriots Jeong Na Eun/Kim Hye Jeong 21-13, 21-10 advancing to the final for the seventh time this year.
Meanwhile, Japan’s Watanabe Yuta/Higashino Arisa will challenge the Chinese defending champion Zheng Siwei/Huang Yaqiong in the mixed doubles final.
Zheng/Huang won 21-19, 21-10 over teammates Feng Yanzhe/Huang Dongping while Watanabe/Higashino narrowly beat Hong Kong’s left-handed duo Tang Chun Man/Tse Ying Suet 22-20, 11-21, 21-16.
