We’re the Champions: Aaron Chia and Soh Wooi Yik

The world men's doubles champions share their arduous journey to badminton redemption in this excerpt from our December 2022 cover story.

It’s August 28, 2022. Malaysians near and far are on the edge of their seats, eyes fixed on the thrilling 2022 BWF World Championships tournament that's being aired live from the Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium. On the court were Malaysian shuttlers Aaron Chia and Soh Wooi Yik, fresh from their failure to secure a gold at the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games.

As they approached the 40-minute mark, tension brewed. Taking their battle-ready positions—Soh the playmaker at the front court and Chia set to attack from the back—you could see the laser-focused determination in their eyes. Then, it happened. Loud, resounding cheers echoed across the gymnasium as Chia and Soh sank to their knees the moment reigning world champions Hendra Setiawan and Mohammad Ahsan of Indonesia failed to return a drop shot by Chia, wrapping up the second set of the men’s doubles final match 21- 14. They had ended the Indonesian pair’s run of 19 tournament wins and brought glory to Malaysia.

There was plenty to celebrate. It was the perfect Merdeka Day (which falls on August 31) gift: Chia and Soh made history as the first-ever Malaysian badminton players to be crowned world champions, finally bringing home a world championships title for the first time in the event’s 45-year history.

The Tokyo 2020 Summer Olympics bronze medallists were also the first Malaysian pair to reach the final in 12 years, since Koo Kien Keat and Tan Boon Heong in the 2010 BWF World Championships in Paris.

For Melaka-born Chia, the second of three siblings, his love for the sport was nurtured since he was a small child under the influence and guidance of his father. “When I was four years old, I would follow my father to the badminton court because he used to play the sport as a hobby, as part of his exercise routine. I would go with him twice a week and was intrigued by it. I began playing regularly when I was seven years old and started training two years later.”

Very quickly, Chia learned that perseverance was as important as physical strength, agility and precision if he wanted to make it to the national team. He was first offered the opportunity to enter the Bukit Jalil Sports School (BJSS) when he was only 12 years old, but ultimately didn’t qualify. The soul-crushing disappointment was difficult to bear for Chia.

Recognising the boy’s passion for the sport, his father advised him to not give up. With his eyes on the prize, Chia doubled down and kept training; three years later, all that he had worked towards finally came to fruition when he was selected to enter BJSS, and at 17, he started training with the Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM).

“Badminton, for me, is my life. Half of my life has been dedicated to badminton. Much more so than my studies!” the 25-year-old laughs.

Above Aaron Chia wears Moschino jacket

Above Soh Wooi Yik, in an outfit by Kit Woo, is wearing his World Championships gold medal

For Soh, it was all in the family. His father is Soh Goon Chup, an accomplished doubles player, who won a bronze with Ong Beng Teong at the 1983 SEA Games in Singapore; and his uncle Soo Beng Kiang and Datuk Cheah Soon Kit won the 1992 Thomas Cup, a historic win for Malaysia. Naturally, there were expectations that he would follow in their footsteps, but the 24-year-old reveals badminton wasn’t his first love.

“I didn’t start with playing badminton first. As a hobby, I loved football and I’d always play with my friends at the padang (field in Malay). But growing up in a home where my father was a national badminton player meant that he would involve me in all of his badminton-related outings and activities. He’d bring me to the stadium, the courts, the training centre. Slowly, I gained interest,” Soh says.

And while he admits badminton is demanding, he says that is part of the appeal. “It requires a lot of physical strength and mental resilience, but it’s also fun. That’s what I like about it. I like that badminton challenges me.”

Perhaps the biggest challenge Soh has had to face was quitting the national team—and not by choice. When he was 18 years old, he sustained an ankle injury which hindered his form, forcing him to stop playing for two years. “I nearly gave up hope of ever going back into badminton, but the Petaling Badminton Club gave me a chance. I really appreciated that and am grateful that I could prove myself once more, to make a comeback,” Soh recalls.

In mid-2017, he rejoined BAM and was later drafted into the national team.

Above Outfits: Zegna

Chia and Soh were both singles players when they first joined BJSS, but after being identified by BAM as doubles talents, they were officially paired up in 2017 when Soh recovered from his injury, something both now see as a good move.

“We’re a duo so we train together and we’re always shouting and having fun. It’s different from training as a singles player, which is very boring. We’re always communicating with each other on the court, and when one of us hits a critical shot, we cheer each other on,” Soh says. “Aaron is really funny. Between us, he’s the joker for sure.”

“We train for about six to seven hours a day every day. We work really well together, and I attribute this to the fact that we’ve known each other since we were kids, playing tournaments and representing our state. We click,” Chia adds.

Being each other’s constant also means that they’ve weathered many storms—or rather, losses—together, which had local sports fans serving harsh criticism and questioning their compatibility, especially when they failed to capitalise on home ground advantage at Malaysia Open 2022 and Malaysia Masters 2022, in both cases crashing out in the semi-finals.

Above Outfits: Dior

“We’ve lost a lot of tournaments and produced poor results these five years. Despite being physically good and ready, we weren’t playing at our optimum and we’d lose badly, and that would always hurt us after the game,” Chia laments. “Before the 2022 BWF World Championships, we were defeated by British duo Ben Lane and Sean Vendy at the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games. That dealt a painful blow to the both of us.”

“Every tournament loss is an experience because it’s for different reasons each time. Sometimes it’s our tactics, sometimes it’s our lack of strength. We’ve failed so many times and we went years without winning any titles. But we’ve learned from them, kept our focus, and worked harder,” Soh adds. Indeed, their failures kept them starved for a taste of success.

To read the rest of the story, grab a copy of the December 2022 issue at newsstands or click here for the digital copy.