ANN/THE STAR – The growing rivalry between men’s doubles shuttlers Goh Sze Fei-Nur Izzuddin Rumsani and Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik is shaping up to be a healthy competition that could push both pairs to excel in the coming year.
Former badminton star Koo Kien Keat has encouraged the pairs to aim for the coveted world No 1 ranking.
The last Malaysian men’s pair to top the world rankings was Goh V Shem-Tan Wee Kiong in 2016, while Kien Keat and Tan Boon Heong achieved the milestone in 2007.
Aaron and Wooi Yik’s highest ranking was No 2 last year, but they recently lost their position as Malaysia’s top pair for the first time since 2019. Meanwhile, Sze Fei and Izzuddin climbed to a career-best world No 3, overtaking Aaron and Wooi Yik, who slipped from No 5 to No 6 in the latest rankings.
Currently, Kim Astrup-Anders Skaarup Rasmussen are the world’s top pair after capturing the Finals crown while China’s Liang Weikeng-Wang Chang are No 2.
Kien Keat, who formed a lethal partnership with Tan Boon Heong in the past, lauded the progress made by Sze Fei-Izzuddin. He believed that the next step was for both the top two Malaysian pairs to battle it out for the No 1 spot in the world.
“First of all congratulations to Sze Fei-Izzuddin. Now I see the healthy competition between them and Aaron-Wooi Yik,” said Kien Keat.
“I’m happy because this should be the way and this is good for Malaysia. Now it’s time to think for either of them to become world No 1.
“So many pairs are actually watching their progress so they need to work even harder.” Sze Fei-Izzuddin’s rise has been nothing short of remarkable after they missed out on a spot in the Paris Olympics in August.
The pair decided to leave the Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) in August to revive their careers and that decision turned out to be spot on.
After capturing the Japan Open in their last outing under the national association, Sze Fei-Izzuddin went on to win the China and Arctic Opens.
The duo also qualified for the prestigious World Tour Finals for the first time and went on to reach the final before coming second best to Astrup-Rasmussen.
With big tournaments like the Malaysian Open, All-England, Sudirman Cup and World Championships coming up next year, the healthy competition between Aaron-Wooi Yik and Sze Fei-Izzuddin bodes well for Malaysia’s chances. Sze Fei-Izzuddin might have overtaken Aaron-Wooi Yik in the rankings but the latter’s record in major events still speaks for itself.
Aaron-Wooi Yik’s notable achievements are capturing gold and bronze in the World Championships in 2022 and 2023 respectively, two bronze in the Olympics in 2020 in Tokyo and 2024 in Paris and bronze in the Asian Games in Hangzhou last year.
The pair were the first Malaysian shuttlers to win the world title and the first doubles pair from the country to win multiple medals in the Olympics.
Aaron-Wooi Yik though will be out to improve their record in the World Tour as they have only two titles to their names so far in the Denmark Open last year and Korean Masters this year.
Sze Fei-Izzuddin, on the other hand, will be keen to prove their mettle in the major events, starting with the world meet next year.
