National men's doubles pairs Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik and Goh Sze Fei-Nur Izzuddin ensured there will be one Malaysian representative at the Badminton Asia Championships (BAC) final as both pairs will meet in the semi-finals on Saturday.
Chia-Soh were first to come through after they outclassed home pair Liu Yu Chen-Ou Xuan Yi 21-14, 21-15 in a victory that was wrapped after 30-minutes.
The Malaysians were simply too good for the Chinese in every department, with Chia playing a starring role from the back court with his nifty drop-shots, while Soh’s control and offense left their opponents reeling.
They will go on to face national team-mates Goh-Izzuddin in a repeat of the 2022 BAC semi-finals.
In that edition two years ago, Chia-Soh triumphed in straight games, but they will not have it as straightforward against their in-form team-mates who have now beaten the reigning world and noe Olympic champions.
Goh-Izzuddin battled hard against Lee Yang-Wang Chi-lin in a 69-minute contest before securing a priceless 19-21, 21-19, 21-19 victory over the Tokyo Olympics champions.
Despite conceding the opening game, the Malaysians did not let their heads drop and rallied back to level the scores, before finding the composure needed to secure the deciding match.
Lee Zii Jia, meanwhile, crashed out of the tournament after losing in straight games 11-21, 6-21 against Indonesia's Jonatan Christie.
