By Newmond Tibin

KOTA KINABALU: Men’s doubles players Aaron Chia and Soh Wooi Yik have maintained their impressive performance in the All England by advancing to the final.

The duo showcased exceptional skill, defeating China’s leading pair, Chen Boyang and Liu Yi, in straight sets with scores of 21-11 and 21-19 in the semifinals held at the Utilita Arena in Birmingham on Saturday.

As the world’s No. 2 pair, they now have a chance to secure their first World Tour Super 1000 title this year, facing the world’s number one duo from South Korea, W.H. Kim and S. Seo, who beat Indonesia’s Nikolaus Joaquin Raymond Indra in the other semifinals.

Despite experiencing a surprising second-round elimination at the 2026 German Open, where they lost to France’s world No. 89 pair, Julien Maio and William Villeger, with scores of 15-21 and 22-24 on February 26 this year, the top-seeded Malaysian pair has excelled at the crucial moment, making their way into the prestigious All England Open.

On the other hand, the national women’s doubles team of Pearly Tan and M. Thinaah could not maintain their strong performance in their first All England semifinals, falling to the top Korean pair and world No. 4, Baek Ha Na and Lee So Hee, with scores of 17-21, 18-21.