Kuala Lumpur: National men’s doubles shuttler Aaron Chia admits that Goh Sze Fei-Nur Izzuddin Rumsani deserve to be the country’s current top combination. Aaron, who partners Soh Wooi Yik, acknowledged that Sze Fei-Nur Izzuddin proved far superior than them following a stellar 2024 season.

According to BERNAMA News Agency, Aaron expressed his views during the 2025 Malaysia Open court testing session. He emphasized that whether they are ranked number one or two, all players represent Malaysia. He praised Sze Fei-Nur Izzuddin for their recent performances and accepted their status as the country’s top men’s doubles pair.

Last month, Sze Fei-Nur Izzuddin climbed to the third spot from seventh in the world rankings, while Aaron-Wooi Yik dropped to sixth. This marks the first time since 2019 that Aaron-Wooi Yik are ranked second best in Malaysia, after previously topping the country’s men’s doubles ranking list.

Sze Fei-Nur Izzuddin’s success is attributed to their performance in the Badminton World Federation (BWF) World Tour Finals 2024, where they reached the final. They also secured three World Tour titles last season, including the Japan Open, China Open, and Arctic Open.

Regarding the 2025 Malaysia Open, Aaron stated that he and Wooi Yik will not underestimate their first-round opponents, Chen Zhi Yi-Presley Smith of the United States. Meanwhile, top national mixed doubles pair Toh Ee Wei-Cheng Tang Jie aim to perform well without additional pressure, as they are ranked fifth in the world and will face Taiwan’s Hsuan-Yi Wu-Chu Yun Yang in their opening match.