Soh Wooi Yik

Badminton runs in Soh Wooi Yik’s family. His father, Soh Goon Chup, and uncle, Soo Beng Kiang, were both national shuttlers—his father winning bronze with Ong Beng Teong at the 1983 SEA Games and his uncle famously securing the 1992 Thomas Cup alongside Cheah Soon Kit. Born in Kuala Lumpur, Soh began swinging a racket at four and was training professionally by six. Though he started as a singles player, former Badminton Association of Malaysia technical director Morten Frost recognised his natural aptitude for doubles.

In 2017, Soh was paired with Aaron Chia, forming Malaysia’s top men’s doubles partnership. Their teamwork and tenacity have brought home multiple victories, including gold at the 2019 Southeast Asian Games and bronze at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. In 2022, they made Malaysian sporting history by winning the BWF World Championships in Tokyo—the nation’s first-ever world title in badminton. That same year, they were named National Sportsmen of the Year at the National Sports Awards.

Their success continued with a bronze medal at the Paris 2024 Olympics after defeating Denmark’s Anders Skaarup Rasmussen and Kim Astrup. In 2025, Soh and Chia further cemented their status as one of the world’s leading pairs, winning the Asian Championships in April, the Thailand Open, and the Singapore Open in May—three major titles in one season. They also reached the semifinals of the India Open and Indonesia Masters, and the finals of the Malaysia Masters. For their outstanding performance, the duo received the National Sportsman of the Year award again in May 2025, marking their second win.