Malaysia’s men’s doubles could be in for a fiery all-Malaysian clash at the Paris World Championships (Aug 25–31) — and the banter has already begun.
World No. 2 Aaron Chia cheekily stirred the pot when he passed by Wan Arif Junaidi–Yap Roy King during media interviews at the Academy Badminton Malaysia. Flashing a grin, Aaron quipped: “Ask them how they’ll fare if they meet us in the third round?”
Arif, fresh from winning the Macau Open with Roy King, didn’t shy away from the challenge, firing back: “If we meet them, we’ll whack them.”
The exchange hints at both pairs’ quiet confidence of setting up a last-16 showdown in Paris. Still, Arif remains grounded, noting their opening hurdles — Japan’s world No. 34 Kenya Mitsuhashi–Hiroki Okamura in the first round, and potentially Thailand’s world No. 12 Dechapol Puavaranukroh–Kittinupong Kedren in the second.
Roy King welcomed the idea of facing Aaron–Soh Wooi Yik, saying it would guarantee at least one Malaysian pair in the quarter-finals and give them a chance to upset higher-ranked opponents.
Aaron–Wooi Yik, meanwhile, have a first-round bye and are expected to meet either Scotland’s Christopher Grimley–Matthew Grimley or Spain’s Daniel Franco–Rodrigo Sanjurjo in round two.
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