Soh Wooi Yik KMW (Chinese: 蘇偉譯; pinyin: Sū Wěiyì; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: So͘ Úi-e̍k; born 17 February 1998) is a Malaysian badminton player.[1][2] A world champion and a double bronze medalist at the Olympic Games, he and his partner Aaron Chia became the first ever world badminton champions from Malaysia after winning the men's doubles title at the 2022 World Championships.[3] Together, they also won a gold medal at the 2019 SEA Games,[4] a silver medal at the 2022 Asian Championships,[5] as well as bronze medals at the 2020 Summer Olympics,[6] 2022 Commonwealth Games,[7] 2023 World Championships[8] 2022 Asian Games,[9] 2024 Asian Championships,[10] and 2024 Summer Olympics.[11] They are also the first Malaysian men’s doubles pair to win consecutive medals at the Olympic Games.[12]

Soh Wooi Yik
蘇偉譯
Soh interviewed by a journalist after the 2023 President's Cup
Personal information
CountryMalaysia
Born (1998-02-17) 17 February 1998 (age 26)
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Height1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)
Weight73 kg (161 lb)
Years active2015–present
HandednessRight
CoachTan Bin Shen
Rexy Mainaky
Men's doubles
Highest ranking2 (with Aaron Chia, 24 January 2023)
Current ranking3 (with Aaron Chia, 13 August 2024)
BWF profile
Soh Wooi Yik
Traditional Chinese蘇偉譯
Simplified Chinese苏伟译
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu PinyinSū Wěiyì
Southern Min
Hokkien POJSo͘ Úi-e̍k

Background

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Soh was born in Kuala Lumpur. He is the son of former Malaysian badminton player Soh Goon Chup.[13] His maternal uncle Soo Beng Kiang is a former Malaysia badminton player and Olympian and had partnered with Cheah Soon Kit to help Malaysia win the 1992 Thomas Cup.[14]

Career

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He began playing badminton when he was 4.[13] He was selected to play for Kuala Lumpur when he was 7. He later received an offer to study at Bukit Jalil Sports School when he was 13.[15]

2012

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Soh reached the final of boys' singles and doubles U-15 events at the 2012 Asian Youth Championships and became the runner-up for both events.[16]

2015

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In September, Soh partnered Aaron Chia and reached the final of Malaysia Junior International, finishing as runners-up.[17]

In November, the duo competed at the 2015 World Junior Championships but crashed out in the fourth round.[18] In the same month, Soh partnered Ooi Zi Heng and won gold at the 2015 ASEAN School Games.[19] Based on his improved performance, he was drafted to the national back-up squad at the end of the year where he was coached by Cheah Soon Kit.[20]

2016

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In July, Soh and Ooi won the boys' doubles bronze medal at the 2016 Asian Junior Championships after they were defeated by the Chinese pair of Han Chengkai and Zhou Haodong in straight games in the semi-finals.[21]

In November, he won a silver medal in the mixed team event of the 2016 World Junior Championships after being defeated by China in the final.[22][23] He then suffered injuries and was not able to compete in the individual event, failing to improve his performance from last year. Despite this, he was still drafted into the national team after the tournament.[24]

2017

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Soh played for Petaling BC at the beginning of the year. He partnered Chen Tang Jie and reached the finals of Malaysia International in July and Waikato International in August.[25]

In October, Soh was recruited into the national team.[26]

Before the end of the season, Soh reunited with Chia and managed to qualify for the finals of the India International.[24]

2018

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In March, Soh and Chia participated in their second international final at the Vietnam International, but failed to win the title.[27]

In the following month, they got into the final of Malaysia International but lost out narrowly to Mohammad Ahsan and Hendra Setiawan.[28]

In August, the pair made their debut at the 2018 World Championships where they reached the quarter-finals before losing out to Li Junhui and Liu Yuchen.[29]

In November, they reached the final of SaarLorLux Open but went down to Marcus Ellis and Chris Langridge in three games.[30]

2019–2020: All England runner-up & SEA Games gold

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In March 2019, Soh and Chia participated in the All England Open where they emerged as a surprise finalist. The pair settled for second best after losing to Ahsan and Setiawan in the final.[31] In December 2019, he helped the Malaysian team to win a silver medal in the men's team event at the 2019 SEA Games.[32][33] He and Chia then took part in the men's doubles event and went on to win the gold, beating Bodin Isara and Maneepong Jongjit in the final.[4]

He was also part of Malaysia's men's team that won silver at the 2020 Asia Team Championships in February.[34][35]

2021: First Olympic bronze

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In January, Soh and Chia reached their third BWF World Tour final at the Thailand Open and finished as the runner-ups.[36]

In late July, the duo made their debut appearance in the men's doubles event at the 2020 Summer Olympics. The duo prevailed against Ahsan and Setiawan 17–21, 21–17, 21–14 in the bronze medal playoff, winning bronze for Malaysia.[6]

He was one of the Malaysian players that won bronze at the 2021 Sudirman Cup in late September.[37]

2022: First world title for Malaysia

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Soh was part of the Malaysian men's team that won gold at the 2022 Asia Team Championships in February.[38][39]

In late April, he and Chia entered the 2022 Asian Championships final but were bested by Indonesians Pramudya Kusumawardana and Yeremia Rambitan.[5]

In August, he won a gold medal in the mixed team event at the 2022 Commonwealth Games.[40] He also won a bronze medal in the men's doubles event with Chia, ending his debut campaign with two medals.[7] A few weeks later, Soh and Chia competed at the 2022 World Championships as the sixth seeds. In the final, they defeated three-time world champions Ahsan and Setiawan 21–19, 21–14 to clinch Malaysia's first ever gold medal at the tournament.[3]

2023: First BWF World Tour title

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In the first half of 2023, Soh and Chia did not manage to win any of the tournaments they participated in. Their most notable achievements were reaching the finals of India Open in January[41] and Indonesia Open in June.[42] Soh also helped the Malaysian team win a second consecutive bronze medal at the 2023 Sudirman Cup in May.[43]

In August, Soh and Chia were unable to defend their title at the 2023 World Championships.[44] They settled for the bronze medal after losing to the eventual champions, Kang Min-hyuk and Seo Seung-jae, in the semi-finals.[8]

They then contested their third final of the year at the China Open in September. However, they went down to Liang Weikeng and Wang Chang in straight games.[45]

In October, the pair concluded their debut campaign at the 2022 Asian Games with a bronze medal finish in the men's doubles event.[9] A few weeks later, they triumphed against Muhammad Shohibul Fikri and Bagas Maulana in the Denmark Open final, finally putting an end to their six-year wait for a first BWF World Tour title.[46]

2024: Second All England runner-up finish & second Olympic bronze

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In February, Soh won his second silver medal as a part of Malaysia's men's team at the 2024 Asia Team Championships.[47]

In March, he and Chia participated in the All England Open and brought home the silver medals again after surprisingly doing so five years ago in 2019. They lost to Fajar Alfian and Muhammad Rian Ardianto of Indonesia after going down with the score of 16–21, 16–21.[48]

In the following month, the pair lost in the semi-finals of the 2024 Asian Championships, securing them a bronze medal.[10]

In early August, he and Chia participated in the 2024 Summer Olympics, their second Olympic appearance. They lost to China's Liang and Wang in the semi-finals 19–21, 21–15, 17–21.[49] In the bronze medal match, he and Chia retained their Olympic bronze medals, defeating Kim Astrup and Anders Skaarup Rasmussen of Denmark in three tight games, 16–21, 22–20, 21–19.[11] With the victory, they became the first-ever Malaysian men's doubles pair to win back-to-back Olympic medals.[12]

In November, Soh and Chia clinched the Korea Masters title, becoming the first Malaysian pair to win the tournament.[50]

Awards

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Year Award Category Result
2021 Anugerah Sukan Negara National Sportsman (with Aaron Chia) Nominated[51]
Men's Team Sports (with Aaron Chia) Won[52]
2022 National Sportsman (with Aaron Chia) Won[53]

Honours

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Achievements

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Olympic Games

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Men's doubles

Year Venue Partner Opponent Score Result Ref
2020 Musashino Forest Sport Plaza, Tokyo, Japan   Aaron Chia   Mohammad Ahsan
  Hendra Setiawan
17–21, 21–17, 21–14   Bronze [6]
2024 Porte de La Chapelle Arena, Paris, France   Aaron Chia   Kim Astrup
  Anders Skaarup Rasmussen
16–21, 22–20, 21–19   Bronze [11]

World Championships

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Men's doubles

Year Venue Partner Opponent Score Result Ref
2022 Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium, Tokyo, Japan   Aaron Chia   Mohammad Ahsan
  Hendra Setiawan
21–19, 21–14   Gold [3]
2023 Royal Arena, Copenhagen, Denmark   Aaron Chia   Kang Min-hyuk
  Seo Seung-jae
21–23, 13–21   Bronze [8]

Commonwealth Games

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Men's doubles

Year Venue Partner Opponent Score Result Ref
2022 National Exhibition Centre, Birmingham, England   Aaron Chia   Chan Peng Soon
  Tan Kian Meng
21–19, 11–21, 21–11   Bronze [7]

Asian Games

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Men's doubles

Year Venue Partner Opponent Score Result Ref
2022 Binjiang Gymnasium, Hangzhou, China   Aaron Chia   Satwiksairaj Rankireddy
  Chirag Shetty
17–21, 12–21   Bronze [9]

Asian Championships

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Men's doubles

Year Venue Partner Opponent Score Result Ref
2022 Muntinlupa Sports Complex, Metro Manila, Philippines   Aaron Chia   Pramudya Kusumawardana
  Yeremia Rambitan
21–23, 10–21   Silver [5]
2024 Ningbo Olympic Sports Center Gymnasium, Ningbo, China   Aaron Chia   Goh Sze Fei
  Nur Izzuddin
14–21, 18–21   Bronze [10]

SEA Games

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Men's doubles

Year Venue Partner Opponent Score Result Ref
2019 Muntinlupa Sports Complex, Metro Manila, Philippines   Aaron Chia   Bodin Isara
  Maneepong Jongjit
18–21, 21–15, 21–16   Gold [4]

Asian Junior Championships

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Boys' doubles

Year Venue Partner Opponent Score Result Ref
2016 CPB Badminton Training Center, Bangkok, Thailand   Ooi Zi Heng   Han Chengkai
  Zhou Haodong
15–21, 17–21   Bronze [21]

BWF World Tour (2 titles, 7 runners-up)

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The BWF World Tour, which was announced on 19 March 2017 and implemented in 2018,[55] is a series of elite badminton tournaments sanctioned by the Badminton World Federation (BWF). The BWF World Tour is divided into levels of World Tour Finals, Super 1000, Super 750, Super 500, Super 300, and the BWF Tour Super 100.[56]

Men's doubles

Year Tournament Level Partner Opponent Score Result Ref
2018 SaarLorLux Open Super 100   Aaron Chia   Marcus Ellis
  Chris Langridge
23–21, 18–21, 19–21   Runner-up [30]
2019 All England Open Super 1000   Aaron Chia   Mohammad Ahsan
  Hendra Setiawan
21–11, 14–21, 12–21   Runner-up [31]
2020 (II) Thailand Open Super 1000   Aaron Chia   Lee Yang
  Wang Chi-lin
13–21, 18–21   Runner-up [36]
2023 India Open Super 750   Aaron Chia   Liang Weikeng
  Wang Chang
21–14, 19–21, 18–21   Runner-up [41]
2023 Indonesia Open Super 1000   Aaron Chia   Satwiksairaj Rankireddy
  Chirag Shetty
17–21, 18–21   Runner-up [42]
2023 China Open Super 1000   Aaron Chia   Liang Weikeng
  Wang Chang
12–21, 14–21   Runner-up [45]
2023 Denmark Open Super 750   Aaron Chia   Muhammad Shohibul Fikri
  Bagas Maulana
21–13, 21–17   Winner [46]
2024 All England Open Super 1000   Aaron Chia   Fajar Alfian
  Muhammad Rian Ardianto
16–21, 16–21   Runner-up [48]
2024 Korea Masters Super 300   Aaron Chia   Jin Yong
  Kim Won-ho
21–23, 21–19, 21–14   Winner [50]

BWF International Challenge/Series (5 runners-up)

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Men's doubles

Year Tournament Partner Opponent Score Result Ref
2017 Malaysia International   Chen Tang Jie   Lee Jian Yi
  Lim Zhen Ting
22–24, 19–21   Runner-up [25]
2017 Waikato International   Chen Tang Jie   Su Li-wei
  Ye Hong-wei
16–21, 21–17, 19–21   Runner-up [25]
2017 Tata Open India International   Aaron Chia   Maneepong Jongjit
  Nanthakarn Yordphaisong
6–21, 9–21   Runner-up [24]
2018 Vietnam International   Aaron Chia   Maneepong Jongjit
  Nanthakarn Yordphaisong
18–21, 14–21   Runner-up [27]
2018 Malaysia International   Aaron Chia   Mohammad Ahsan
  Hendra Setiawan
17–21, 21–17, 19–21   Runner-up [28]
  BWF International Challenge tournament
  BWF International Series tournament
  BWF Future Series tournament

Record against selected opponents

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Record against year-end Finals finalists, World Championships semi-finalists, and Olympic quarter-finalists. Accurate as of 13 August 2024.

Aaron Chia

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Soh Wooi Yik and Aaron Chia lead the head-to-head record against Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty. Meanwhile, Chia and Soh have a poor head-to-head record against Marcus Fernaldi Gideon and Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo (2–9), Li Junhui & Liu Yuchen (0–6), Liang Weikeng and Wang Chang (2–8), and also Takuro Hoki and Yugo Kobayashi (2–8).[57]

Notes

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  1. ^ Tournament Software did not include the results of men's team event of the 2022 Asian Games for head-to-head (Chia and Soh won against Kang and Seo 21–17, 21–9).[58]

References

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  1. ^ "Players: Soh Wooi Yik". Badminton World Federation. Retrieved 5 December 2019.
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  3. ^ a b c R., Kirubashini (28 August 2022). "History is made, Aaron-Soh win first Malaysia's badminton world title". The Star. Retrieved 28 August 2022.
  4. ^ a b c "Doubles' win makes it triple gold for Malaysia's badminton campaign". New Straits Times. 9 December 2019. Retrieved 22 December 2019.
  5. ^ a b c Liew, Vincent (2 May 2022). "Aaron Chia Upbeat Despite 2022 Badminton Asia Championships Final loss". Badminton Planet. Retrieved 28 August 2022.
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  7. ^ a b c "Commonwealth Games: Shuttlers Aaron-Wooi Yik tame Peng Soon-Kian Meng for bronze". Malay Mail. 8 August 2022. Retrieved 28 August 2022.
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  9. ^ a b c Lim, Teik Huat (6 October 2023). "Badminton: Aaron-Wooi Yik bag bronze in Asian Games". The Star. Retrieved 8 October 2023.
  10. ^ a b c "Asia Championships: Goh/Izzuddin's Great Run Continues". Badminton World Federation. 13 April 2024. Retrieved 4 August 2024.
  11. ^ a b c Salim, Faizal (4 August 2024). "Aaron-Wooi Yik secure Malaysia's first Olympic medal in Paris". New Straits Times. Retrieved 4 August 2024.
  12. ^ a b "#Paris2024 DAY 9: AARON-WOOI YIK WIN BRONZE!". Badminton Association of Malaysia. 4 August 2024. Retrieved 5 August 2024.
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  26. ^ "Badminton: Six club players join BAM to bolster mixed doubles department". The Star. Retrieved 9 April 2018.
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  30. ^ a b Liew, Vincent (4 November 2018). "Marcus Ellis/Chris Langridge beat Aaron Chia/Soh Wooi Yik in SaarrLorLux Open Final". Badminton Planet. Retrieved 28 August 2022.
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  34. ^ "BWF - Badminton Asia Team Championships 2020 - Team: [MAS] Malaysia - Players". bwf.tournamentsoftware.com. Retrieved 23 October 2023.
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  36. ^ a b Zhang, Kevin (24 January 2021). "Viktor Axelsen & Carolina Marin Win Second Title in Two Weeks at Toyota Thailand Open". Badminton Planet. Retrieved 28 August 2022.
  37. ^ "Japan ends Malaysia's run in the Sudirman Cup". The Malaysian Reserve. 3 October 2021. Retrieved 22 October 2023.
  38. ^ "OFFICIAL: YOUTHFUL LINEUP FOR BATC2022 | BAM". bam.org.my. Retrieved 22 October 2023.
  39. ^ "Malaysian men's squad end Indonesia's dominance to win Badminton Asia Team Championships 2022". Malay Mail. 20 February 2022. Retrieved 22 October 2023.
  40. ^ Anil, Nicolas (3 August 2023). "Commonwealth Games: Malaysia exact revenge against India to regain badminton mixed team gold". Stadium Astro. Retrieved 22 October 2023.
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  42. ^ a b "Indonesia Open: Satwik-Chirag pair see off Malaysia's Aaron Chia and Soh Wooi Yik to clinch historic Super 1000 title". First Post. 18 June 2023. Archived from the original on 18 June 2023. Retrieved 10 September 2023.
  43. ^ R., Kirubashini (20 May 2023). "Malaysia's fine run in Sudirman Cup ends in semi-final defeat to South Korea". The Star. Archived from the original on 20 May 2023. Retrieved 10 September 2023.
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  45. ^ a b Peter, Fabian (10 September 2023). "Aaron-Wooi Yik play 'bridesmaids' at China Open". New Straits Times. Retrieved 10 September 2023.
  46. ^ a b "Aaron-Wooi Yik win first world tour title with Denmark Open victory". Malay Mail. 22 October 2023. Retrieved 22 October 2023.
  47. ^ "BATC 2024: Malaysia dethroned after failing to break the great wall of China". The Sun. 18 February 2024. Retrieved 27 March 2024.
  48. ^ a b "Aaron-Wooi Yik fall at last hurdle in All England final". Free Malaysia Today. 17 March 2024. Retrieved 27 March 2024.
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  50. ^ a b Paul, Rajes (10 November 2024). "Pumped-up Aaron-Wooi Yik go the distance to lift first Open title this year". The Star. Archived from the original on 10 November 2024. Retrieved 10 November 2024.
  51. ^ "Azizulhasni, Pandelela crowned sportsman and sportswoman for year 2021". The Star. 31 January 2023. Retrieved 31 January 2023.
  52. ^ Perimbanayagam, Kalbana (31 January 2023). "Azizulhasni, Pandalela awarded highest national sports recognition". New Straits Times. Retrieved 31 January 2023.
  53. ^ Bernama (18 July 2023). "ASN 2022: Aaron-Wooi Yik, Joe Ee crowned national sportsman and sportswoman". The Sun Daily. Retrieved 18 July 2023.
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