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Journalism of Courage
While Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty stepped out of their training bubble for the upcoming World Championships to celebrate Independence Day at the Gopichand Academy, their arch rivals Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik were battling off potential domestic competition.
A quarterfinal clash between the Indians and the Malaysians is on the anvil at Paris Worlds, but top doubles pairings around the world might have a tougher pathway to get to the medal round.
While Indians need to get past the Chinese Liang Weikeng-Wang Chang, Chia-Soh have some local headaches potentially.
New Straits Times reported recently that banter had begun at the Academy Badminton Malaysia in Kuala Lumpur, when former World champion Aaron Chia cheekily told reporters While passing world No. 22 Wan Arif Junaidi–Yap Roy King, “Ask them how they’ll fare if they meet us in the third round?”
Malaysia has one of the most promising upcoming cohorts in men’s doubles, and a third round all-Malaysian clash is a possibility. Straits Times noted that a grinning Aaron passed by Arif and Roy King who were being interviewed by journalists, but got back a thundering response. Arif and King won claimed Macau Open recently, Straits Times reported, ‘didn’t back down’ and retorted: “If we meet them, we’ll whack them.”
It all ended in whoops of laughter all round, but the challenge is real. Straits Times noted that, ‘Aaron’s challenge is also a strong indication that both pairs are quietly confident of setting up an all-Malaysia third-round clash in Paris.’
Malaysia have filled their entire possible quota with Man-Tee and Goh-Izuddin besides Aaron-Wooi and Arif-King qualifying for the Worlds.
Arif told the paper he however didn’t want to lose sights of a tough first-round clash against Japan’s world No. 34 Kenya Mitsuhashi-Hiroki Okamura, and a possible second-round meeting with Thailand’s world No. 12 Dechapol Puavaranukroh–Kittinupong Kedren.
“We have tough opponents in the earlier rounds, so we want to clear those hurdles first before thinking about playing Aaron–Wooi Yik,” Arif told New Straits Times.
Roy King added, ‘It will be good if we can meet Aaron-Wooi Yik in the last 16, as this will confirm at least one Malaysian pair in the quarter-finals. We have the fire in us to upset higher-ranked pairs at the World Championships.”
World No. 2 and second-seeded Aaron-Wooi Yik have received a first-round bye and are likely to meet either Scotland’s Grimley twins, world No. 40 Christopher-Matthew or Spain’s world No. 89 Daniel Franco-Rodrigo Sanjurjo in the second round.
Satwik-Chirag start with a bye and could run into fellow Indians Amsakarunan – Rethinasabapathi or trickier Chinese Taipei’s Liu KH- Yang PH in Round 2, before the Chinese, who face either a Spanish or Canadian pair.
Satwik-Chirag won bronze at the 2022 Worlds, while Aaron-Wooi went on to win the world title. They have been quite the nemesis denying the Indians an Olympic medal in Paris last monsoon, and Indians have a bit of a whacking score to settle themselves.
