Soh Wooi Yik

Soh Wooi Yik (born 17 February 1998) is a Malaysian badminton player. He and his partner Aaron Chia became the first ever world badminton champions from Malaysia after winning the men's doubles title at the 2022 BWF World Championships. Together, they also won a gold medal at the 2019 SEA Games, a silver medal at the 2022 Badminton Asia Championships, as well as bronze medals at the 2020 Summer Olympics, 2022 Commonwealth Games, 2023 BWF World Championships and 2022 Asian Games.
Background
Soh was born in Kuala Lumpur. He is the son of former Malaysian badminton player Soh Goon Chup. His maternal uncle Soo Beng Kiang is a former Malaysia badminton player and Olympian and had partnered with Cheah Soon Kit to help Malaysia win the 1992 Thomas Cup.
Career
He began playing badminton when he was 4. He was selected to play for Kuala Lumpur when he was 7. He later received an offer to study at Bukit Jalil Sports School when he was 13.
2012
Soh reached the final of boys' singles and doubles U-15 events at the 2012 Badminton Asia Youth U-15 & U-17 Championships and became the runner-ups for both events.
2015
In September, Soh partnered Aaron Chia and reached the final of Malaysia Junior International, finishing as runner-ups.
In November, the duo competed at the 2015 BWF World Junior Championships but crashed out in the fourth round. In the same month, Soh partnered Ooi Zi Heng and won gold at the 2015 ASEAN School Games. Based on his improved performance, he was drafted to the national back-up squad at the end of the year where he was coached by Cheah Soon Kit.
2016
In July, Soh and Ooi won the boys' doubles bronze medal at the 2016 Asian Junior Championships after they were defeated by the Chinese pair of Han Chengkai and Zhou Haodong in straight games in the semi-finals.
In November, he won a silver medal in the mixed team event of the 2016 BWF World Junior Championships after being defeated by China in the final. He then suffered injuries and was not able to compete in the individual event, failing to improve his performance from last year. Despite this, he was still drafted into the national team after the tournament.
2017
Soh played for Petaling BC at the beginning of the year. He partnered Chen Tang Jie and reached the finals of Malaysia International in July and Waikato International in August.
In October, Soh was recruited into the national team.
Before the end of the season, Soh reunited with Chia and managed to qualify for the finals of the India International.
2018
In March, Soh and Chia stormed into their second international final at the Vietnam International, but failed to win the title.
In the following month, they got into the final of Malaysia International but lost out narrowly to Mohammad Ahsan and Hendra Setiawan.
In August, the pair made their debut at the 2018 BWF World Championships where they reached the quarter-finals before losing out to Li Junhui and Liu Yuchen.
In November, they reached the final of SaarLorLux Open but went down to Marcus Ellis and Chris Langridge in three games.
2019–2020: SEA Games gold
In March 2019, Soh and Chia participated in the All England Open where they emerged as a surprise finalist. The pair settled for second best after losing to Ahsan and Setiawan in the final. In December 2019, he helped the Malaysian team to win a silver medal in the men's team event at the 2019 SEA Games. He and Chia then took part in the men's doubles event and went on to win the gold, beating Bodin Isara and Maneepong Jongjit in the final.
He was also part of Malaysia's men's team that won silver at the 2020 Badminton Asia Team Championships in February.
2021: Olympic bronze
In January, Soh and Chia reached their third BWF World Tour final at the Thailand Open and finished as the runner-ups.
In late July, the duo made their debut appearance in the men's doubles event at the 2020 Summer Olympics. The duo prevailed against Ahsan and Setiawan 17–21, 21–17, 21–14 in the bronze medal playoff, winning bronze for Malaysia.
He was one of the Malaysian players that won bronze at the 2021 Sudirman Cup in late September.
2022: First world title for Malaysia
Soh was part of the Malaysian men's team that won gold at the 2022 Badminton Asia Team Championships in February.
In late April, he and Chia entered the 2022 Badminton Asia Championships final but were bested by Indonesians Pramudya Kusumawardana and Yeremia Rambitan.
In August, he won a gold medal in the mixed team event at the 2022 Commonwealth Games. He also won a bronze medal in the men's doubles event with Chia, ending his debut campaign with two medals. A few weeks later, Soh and Chia competed at the 2022 BWF World Championships as the sixth seeds. In the final, they defeated three-time world champions Ahsan and Setiawan 21–19, 21–14 to clinch Malaysia's first ever gold medal at the tournament.
2023: First BWF World Tour title
In the first half of 2023, Soh and Chia did not manage to win any of the tournaments they participated in. Their most notable achievements were reaching the finals of India Open in January and Indonesia Open in June. Soh also helped the Malaysian team win a second consecutive bronze medal at the 2023 Sudirman Cup in May.
In August, Soh and Chia were unable to defend their title at the 2023 BWF World Championships. They settled for the bronze medal after losing to the eventual champions, Kang Min-hyuk and Seo Seung-jae, in the semi-finals.
They then contested their third final of the year at the China Open in September. However, they went down to Liang Weikeng and Wang Chang in straight games.
In October, the pair concluded their debut campaign at the 2022 Asian Games with a bronze medal finish in the men's doubles event. A few weeks later, they triumphed against Muhammad Shohibul Fikri and Bagas Maulana in the Denmark Open final, finally putting an end to their six-year wait for a first BWF World Tour title.
Awards
Honours
:
Officer of the Order of the Territorial Crown (KMW) (2022)
Achievements
Olympic Games
Men's doubles
World Championships
Men's doubles
Commonwealth Games
Men's doubles
Asian Games
Men's doubles
Asian Championships
Men's doubles
SEA Games
Men's doubles
Asian Junior Championships
Boys' doubles
BWF World Tour (1 title, 6 runners-up)
The BWF World Tour, which was announced on 19 March 2017 and implemented in 2018, is a series of elite badminton tournaments sanctioned by the Badminton World Federation (BWF). The BWF World Tour is divided into levels of World Tour Finals, Super 1000, Super 750, Super 500, Super 300, and the BWF Tour Super 100.
Men's doubles
BWF International Challenge/Series (5 runners-up)
Men's doubles
BWF International Challenge tournament
BWF International Series tournament
BWF Future Series tournament
Record against selected opponents
Record against year-end Finals finalists, World Championships semi-finalists, and Olympic quarter-finalists. Accurate as of 17 October 2023.
Aaron Chia
Soh Wooi Yik and Aaron Chia lead the head-to-head record against Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty. Meanwhile, Chia and Soh have a poor head-to-head record against Marcus Fernaldi Gideon and Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo (2–9), Li Junhui & Liu Yuchen (0–6), Mohammad Ahsan and Hendra Setiawan (4–8), and also Takuro Hoki and Yugo Kobayashi (2–6).
Notes
References
External links
Living people
1998 births
Badminton players from Kuala Lumpur
Malaysian sportspeople of Chinese descent
Malaysian male badminton players
Badminton players at the 2020 Summer Olympics
Olympic badminton players for Malaysia
Olympic bronze medalists for Malaysia
Olympic medalists in badminton
Medalists at the 2020 Summer Olympics
Badminton players at the 2022 Commonwealth Games
Commonwealth Games gold medallists for Malaysia
Commonwealth Games bronze medallists for Malaysia
Commonwealth Games medallists in badminton
Medallists at the 2022 Commonwealth Games
Badminton players at the 2022 Asian Games
Asian Games bronze medalists for Malaysia
Asian Games medalists in badminton
Medalists at the 2022 Asian Games
Competitors at the 2019 SEA Games
SEA Games gold medalists for Malaysia
SEA Games silver medalists for Malaysia
SEA Games medalists in badminton
21st-century Malaysian people