National shuttler Aaron Chia, 25, scored a major milestone when he and Soh Wooi Yik took home the gold for men’s doubles at the BWF World Championships in Tokyo on August 28, 2022—making history as Malaysia’s first to win the prestigious title, beating Indonesia’s three-time world champions Hendra Setiawan and Mohammad Ahsan. It was sweet triumph for Chia and Soh, who lost to Setiawan-Ahsan previously at the 2019 All England final.

Known for his lightning quick reflexes, Chia joined the national team in 2015 after his international debut at the Indonesia International Series in 2014. Together with Soh, some of their notable wins include the gold medal at the 2019 Southeast Asian Games, silver at the 2022 Asian Championships, bronze at the 2022 Commonwealth Games and bronze at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.

The Melaka-born Chia was introduced to the game by his father when he was only seven and started entering tournaments at age 10.