KUALA LUMPUR: Former world champions Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik believe they are now so accustomed to dealing with the crucial stages of a match that they can manage it well and prevail.
It was evident when the top seeds did well to claw back from 14-10 down before saving a game point in the second game to notch a 21-18, 22-20 win over South Korea's Kim Young Hyuk-Wang Chan in the opening round of the Malaysia Masters on Wednesday.
Being able to close out a match in straight games is imperative to prevent rivals from having their morale boosted and stage potential come-from-behind wins.
Aaron admitted the pair have been putting a lot of emphasis on keeping their nerves in check and handling the crucial situation with a cool head.
"We have been focusing a lot on how to manage ourselves well during the crucial stage, and I think it has given us the edge because we're already so used to it, so we don't really feel the pressure when we're facing such a situation," said Aaron.
"Today's match was somewhat training for us because we were able to play with calm when our opponents had a big lead.
Wooi Yik echoed his partner's sentiment, saying that there's no way for them to avoid such a situation from taking place due to the competitiveness of a match.
He added that all that matters is to deal with it well.
"From our past experiences, I can conclude that we will always be facing such situations over and over again; you just can't avoid them," said Wooi Yik.
"It's how prepared you are to deal with this situation. In today's case, I think we handled ourselves really well."
Aaron-Wooi Yik will next face China's Chen Bo Yang-Liu Yi on Thursday.
The host is well represented in the men's doubles event, as four other pairs—Man Wei Chong-Tee Kai Wun, Choong Hon Jian-Tee Kai Wun, Wan Arif Junaidi-Yap Roy King, and Goh Sze Fei-Nur Izzuddin Rumsani—also reached the last 16
SELECTED RESULTS
Men's singles: Leong Jun Hao bt Lei Lan Xi (Chn) 13-21, 23-21, 21-12; Wang Tzu Wei (Tai) bt Loh Kean Yew (Sin) 22-20, 9-21, 21-18; Viktor Axelsen (Den) bt Koki Watanabe (Jpn) 21-14, 21-11; Lee Zii Jia bt Zhao Jun Peng (Chn) 19-21, 21-11, 21-14; Anders Antonsen (Den) bt Shesar Hiren Rhustavito (Ina) 12-21, 21-9, 21-17; Li Shi Feng (Chn) bt Toma Junior Popov (Fra) 12-21, 21-19, 21-15; Lee Cheuk Yiu (Hkg) bt Ygor Coelho (Bra) 21-17, 21-16; Chou Tien Chen (Tai) bt Rasmus Gemke (Den) 21-14, 21-17.
Men's doubles: Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik bt Kim Young Hyuk-Wang Chan (Kor) 21-18, 22-20; Lu Ching Yao-Yang Po Han bt Christopher Grimley-Matthew Grimley (Sco) 21-16, 21-9; Rasmus Kjaer-Frederik Sogaard (Den) bt Boon Xin Yuan-Goh V Shem 21-13, 21-8.
Women's singles: Han Yue (Chn) bt K. Letshanaa 21-14, 21-9; P. V. Sindhu (Ind) bt Kirsty Gilmour (Sco) 21-17, 21-16; Ratchanok Intanon (Tha) bt Thet Htar Thuzar (Mya) 21-13, 21-14; Goh Jin Wei bt Polina Buhrova (Ukr) 21-16, 18-21, 21-14; Zhang Yi Man (Chn) bt Chiu Pin Chian (Tai) 21-19, 21-10; Zhang Beiwen (Usa) bt Chen Su Yu (Tai) 21-18, 21-12; Pornpawee Chochuwong (Tha) 21-18, 21-16; Wang Zhi Yi (Chn) bt Aakarshi Kashyap (Ind) 24-22, 21-13.
Mixed doubles: Chen Tang Jie-Toh Ee Wei bt Pakkapon Teeraratsakul-Phataimas Muenwong (Tha) 21-12, 21-14; Tan Kian Meng-Lai Pei Jing bt Ruttanapak Oupthong-Jhenicha Sudjaipraparat (Tha) 21-16, 17-21, 21-19; Wang Chan-Shin Seung Chan (Kor) bt Choong Hon Jian-Go Pei Kee 21-19, 21-16; Goh Soon Huat-Shevon Lai bt Ko Sung Hyun-Eom Hye Won (Kor) 21-19, 21-17; Rehan Naufal Kusharjanto-Lisa Ayu Kusumawati (Ina) bt Adnan Maulana-Nita Violina Marwah (Ina) 21-18, 19-21, 21-15; Cheng Xing-Li Qian (Chn) bt Chan Peng Soon-Cheah Yee See 21-10, 21-6; Dejan Ferdinansyah-Gloria Emanuelle Widjaja (Ina) 21-16, 21-13; Rinov Rivaldy-Pitha Haningtyas Mentari (Ina) bt Yap Roy King-Valeree Siow 21-14, 21-12; Guo Xin Wa-Chen Fang Hui bt Jafar Hidayatullah-Aisyah Salsabila Putri Pranata (Ina) 21-16, 21-15; Hoo Pang Ron-Cheng Su Yin bt Hung Kuei Chun-Tsang Hiu Yan 21-16, 25-23; Mathias Christiansen-Alexandra Boje (Den) bt Zhou Zhi Hong-Yang Jia Yi (Chn) 18-21, 21-17, 21-15.
