Aaron-Wooi Yik let world No. 1 pair get away

KUALA LUMPUR: The elusive All England title has eluded Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik again. And this time the Malaysian pair knew they let it slip away on Sunday.

They led 12-7 in the rubber against South Koreans Kim Won Ho-Seo Seung Jae in Birmingham, and the All England crown, at this point, was beckoning them.

But the composed Koreans fought their way back into the game for a dramatic 18-21, 21-12, 21-19 win in 63 minutes.

World No.1 Won Ho-Seung Jae, who captured an amazing 11 titles on the World Tour last season, were deemed near invincible.

Yet, at the Utilita Arena Birmingham, Aaron-Wooi Yik actually had them against the ropes, but just could not deliver the knockout punch.

Aaron-Wooi Yik had to settle for second place in the prestigious All England for the third time after finishing runners-up in 2019 and 2024.

A dejected Aaron admitted the loss was painful and that time is not on their side — Aaron is 29, Wooi Yik is 28 — in their bid for glory at the world’s oldest badminton tournament.

“Although we lost, we still did well to be in the final, and we lost to the best. And there is more to learn,” he said.

Aaron-Wooi Yik did well — it’s not bad considering they had suffered a shock loss to lowly French pair Julien Maio-William Villeger in the German Open second round last week.

Wooi Yik revealed that the change of courts had a telling effect on their game, and a simple error at 16-16 turned the tide in the Koreans’ favour.

“We had a good lead in the third game, but when we changed courts, they had more advantage at the other side. And we didn’t control the crucial points,” said Wooi Yik.

“It was easier to get points from there because of the draught. The crucial one was at 16-16, where we made a simple mistake and that cost us the game.

“We are disappointed but have to keep going. We have made many finals and it was very close for us. So, we will use the experience from this match in our next big tournament.”

Aaron-Wooi Yik have won a world title and an Olympic bronze medal, and they are now ranked world No. 2. But the All England crown remains tantalising out of reach.

Won Ho-Seung Jae took home US$107,300 (RM423,500) from the All England while Aaron-Wooi Yik received US$50,750.

Malaysia has now gone 19 years without an All England men’s doubles title since Koo Kien Keat-Tan Boon Heong’s triumph.

Notably, Aaron-Wooi Yik showed consistency to have reached the final in their last three Super 1000 tournaments — the China Open, Malaysia Open and All England.