PETALING JAYA: Newly paired men’s doubles shuttlers Aaron Chia-Aaron Tai qualified for the Taipei Open quarter-finals after brushing aside their Taiwanese opponents in their second-round match today.
Chia-Tai beat Lai Po Yu-Tsai Fu Cheng 21-16, 21-13 in just 26 minutes at the Taipei Arena, Taiwan.
The duo are among the four pairs involved in the Badminton Association of Malaysia’s experimental shake-up which pairs senior players with younger shuttlers.
The senior-junior combination, playing together in only their second tournament, showed significant potential to book a quarter-final berth where they will face either Indonesian pair Rian Ardianto-Daniel Edgar Marvino, or Taiwan’s Lee Jhe Huei-Yang Po Hsuan tomorrow.
The other three new pairs who were eliminated in the first round at the last two championships were Soh Wooi Yik-Man Wei Chong, Tee Kai Wun-Yap Roy King, and Wan Arif Wan Junaidi-Kang Khai Xing.
Although the Taipei Open is only a World Tour Super 300 tournament, Chia-Tai’s success here will be a major boost for Malaysia’s men’s doubles pairs, who have been facing a lean spell.
