| Soh Wooi Yik | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Traditional Chinese | 蘇偉譯 | ||||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 苏伟译 | ||||||||||
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Soh Wooi YikKMW (Chinese:蘇偉譯;pinyin:Sū Wěiyì;Pe̍h-ōe-jī:So͘ Úi-e̍k; born 17 February 1998) is a Malaysianbadminton player.[1][2] A world champion, an Asian champion and a double bronze medalist at theOlympic Games, he and his partnerAaron Chia became the first ever world badminton champions from Malaysia after winning themen's doubles title at the2022 World Championships.[3] Together, they also won a gold medal at the2019 SEA Games and2025 Asian Championships,[4] a silver medal at the2022 Asian Championships,[5] as well as bronze medals at the2020 and2024 Summer Olympics,[6][7]2022 Commonwealth Games,[8]2023 World Championships[9]2022 Asian Games[10] and2024 Asian Championships.[11][12] They are also the first Malaysian men’s doubles pair to win consecutive medals at the Olympic Games.[13]
Soh was born inKuala Lumpur. He is the son of former Malaysian badminton player Soh Goon Chup.[14] His maternal uncleSoo Beng Kiang is a former Malaysia badminton player and Olympian and had partnered withCheah Soon Kit to help Malaysia win the1992 Thomas Cup.[15]
He began playing badminton when he was 4.[14] 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.[16]
Soh reached the final of boys' singles and doubles U-15 events at the 2012Asian Youth Championships and became the runner-up for both events.[17]
In September, Soh partneredAaron Chia and reached the final of Malaysia Junior International, finishing as runners-up.[18]
In November, the duo competed at the2015 World Junior Championships but crashed out in the fourth round.[19] In the same month, Soh partneredOoi Zi Heng and won gold at the 2015ASEAN School Games.[20] Based on his improved performance, he was drafted to the national back-up squad at the end of the year where he was coached byCheah Soon Kit.[21]
In July, Soh and Ooi won the boys' doubles bronze medal at the2016 Asian Junior Championships after they were defeated by the Chinese pair ofHan Chengkai andZhou Haodong in straight games in the semi-finals.[22]
In November, he won a silver medal in the mixed team event of the2016 World Junior Championships after being defeated by China in the final.[23][24] 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.[25]
Soh played for Petaling BC at the beginning of the year. He partneredChen Tang Jie and reached the finals ofMalaysia International in July andWaikato International in August.[26]
In October, Soh was recruited into thenational team.[27]
Before the end of the season, Soh reunited with Chia and managed to qualify for the finals of theIndia International.[25]
In March, Soh and Chia participated in their second international final at theVietnam International, but failed to win the title.[28]
In the following month, they got into the final of Malaysia International but lost out narrowly toMohammad Ahsan andHendra Setiawan.[29]
In August, the pair made their debut at the2018 World Championships where they reached the quarter-finals before losing out toLi Junhui andLiu Yuchen.[30]
In November, they reached the final ofSaarLorLux Open but went down toMarcus Ellis andChris Langridge in three games.[31]
In March 2019, Soh and Chia participated in theAll England Open where they emerged as a surprise finalist. The pair settled for second best after losing to Ahsan and Setiawan in the final.[32] In December 2019, he helped the Malaysian team to win a silver medal in themen's team event at the 2019 SEA Games.[33][34] He and Chia then took part in themen's doubles event and went on to win the gold, beatingBodin Isara andManeepong Jongjit in the final.[4]
He was also part of Malaysia's men's team that won silver at the2020 Asia Team Championships in February.[35][36]
In January, Soh and Chia reached their third BWF World Tour final at theThailand Open and finished as the runner-ups.[37]
In late July, the duo made their debut appearance in themen's doubles event at the2020 Summer Olympics. The duo prevailed against Ahsan and Setiawan 17–21, 21–17, 21–14 in the bronze medal playoff, winning bronze for Malaysia.[6]
He was one of the Malaysian players that won bronze at the2021 Sudirman Cup in late September.[38]
Soh was part of the Malaysian men's team that won gold at the2022 Asia Team Championships in February.[39][40]
In late April, he and Chia entered the2022 Asian Championships final but were bested by IndonesiansPramudya Kusumawardana andYeremia Rambitan.[5]
In August, he won a gold medal in themixed team event at the 2022 Commonwealth Games.[41] He also won a bronze medal in themen's doubles event with Chia, ending his debut campaign with two medals.[8] A few weeks later, Soh and Chia competed at the2022 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.[3]
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 ofIndia Open in January[42] andIndonesia Open in June.[43] Soh also helped the Malaysian team win a second consecutive bronze medal at the2023 Sudirman Cup in May.[44]
In August, Soh and Chia were unable to defend their title at the2023 World Championships.[45] They settled for the bronze medal after losing to the eventual champions,Kang Min-hyuk andSeo Seung-jae, in the semi-finals.[9]
They then contested their third final of the year at theChina Open in September. However, they went down toLiang Weikeng andWang Chang in straight games.[46]
In October, the pair concluded their debut campaign at the2022 Asian Games with a bronze medal finish in themen's doubles event.[10] A few weeks later, they triumphed againstMuhammad Shohibul Fikri andBagas Maulana in theDenmark Open final, finally putting an end to their six-year wait for a first BWF World Tour title.[47]
In February, Soh won his second silver medal as a part of Malaysia's men's team at the 2024 Asia Team Championships.[48]
In March, he and Chia participated in theAll England Open and brought home the silver medals again after surprisingly doing so five years ago in 2019. They lost toFajar Alfian andMuhammad Rian Ardianto of Indonesia after going down with the score of 16–21, 16–21.[49]
In the following month, the pair lost in the semi-finals of the2024 Asian Championships, securing them a bronze medal.[11]
In early August, he and Chia participated in the2024 Summer Olympics, their second Olympic appearance. They lost to China's Liang and Wang in the semi-finals 19–21, 21–15, 17–21.[50] In the bronze medal match, he and Chia retained their Olympic bronze medals, defeatingKim Astrup andAnders Skaarup Rasmussen of Denmark in three tight games, 16–21, 22–20, 21–19.[12] With the victory, they became the first-ever Malaysian men's doubles pair to win back-to-back Olympic medals.[13]
In November, Soh and Chia clinched theKorea Masters title, becoming the first Malaysian pair to win the tournament.[51]
Soh with his normal partner, Chia started the tour with good starting point, reaching semifinals in theIndia Open.[52] The next week, they repeated the same feat inIndonesia Masters, beaten by their compatriots,Man Wei Chong andTee Kai Wun who did go on to win the whole tournament.[53] Although no success in the first three months, Soh and Chia won their firstAsian Championships in April, defeatingChen Boyang andLiu Yi of China in their opponent homeground.[54]
In May, Soh and Chia maintained their momentum by snatching their first title of the year inThailand Open in grueling three sets.[55] Soh and Chia made the final ofMalaysia Masters but for the second time in a year, lost out to Man and Tee in an all-Malaysian finals bout.[56] On the next week, Soh and Chia surging through their good form and making the final for three straight competition, this time winning theSingapore Open.[57] Soh and Chia the reachedChina Open final in July but lost to the Indonesian makeshift pair ofFajar Alfian andMuhammad Shohibul Fikri, thus continuing their droughts of gaining the Super 1000 titles after failing in their sixth attempts.[58]
Soh and Chia reached the next final atArctic Open in October but they are defeated byBen Lane andSean Vendy.[59]
| Year | Award | Category | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | Anugerah Sukan Negara | National Sportsman (with Aaron Chia) | Nominated[60] |
| Men's Team Sports (with Aaron Chia) | Won[61] | ||
| 2022 | National Sportsman (with Aaron Chia) | Won[62] | |
| 2024 | National Sportsman (with Aaron Chia) | Won[63] |
Men's doubles
| Year | Venue | Partner | Opponent | Score | Result | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | Musashino Forest Sport Plaza,Tokyo, Japan | 17–21, 21–17, 21–14 | [6] | |||
| 2024 | Porte de La Chapelle Arena,Paris, France | 16–21, 22–20, 21–19 | [12] |
Men's doubles
| Year | Venue | Partner | Opponent | Score | Result | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium,Tokyo, Japan | 21–19, 21–14 | Gold | [3] | ||
| 2023 | Royal Arena,Copenhagen, Denmark | 21–23, 13–21 | Bronze | [9] |
Men's doubles
| Year | Venue | Partner | Opponent | Score | Result | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | National Exhibition Centre,Birmingham, England | 21–19, 11–21, 21–11 | Bronze | [8] |
Men's doubles
| Year | Venue | Partner | Opponent | Score | Result | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | Binjiang Gymnasium,Hangzhou, China | 17–21, 12–21 | Bronze | [10] |
Men's doubles
| Year | Venue | Partner | Opponent | Score | Result | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | Muntinlupa Sports Complex,Metro Manila, Philippines | 21–23, 10–21 | Silver | [5] | ||
| 2024 | Ningbo Olympic Sports Center Gymnasium,Ningbo, China | 14–21, 18–21 | Bronze | [11] | ||
| 2025 | Ningbo Olympic Sports Center Gymnasium, Ningbo, China | 21–19, 21–17 | Gold | [54] |
Men's doubles
| Year | Venue | Partner | Opponent | Score | Result | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | Muntinlupa Sports Complex,Metro Manila, Philippines | 18–21, 21–15, 21–16 | Gold | [4] |
Boys' doubles
| Year | Venue | Partner | Opponent | Score | Result | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | CPB Badminton Training Center,Bangkok, Thailand | 15–21, 17–21 | Bronze | [22] |
The BWF World Tour, which was announced on 19 March 2017 and implemented in 2018,[65] is a series of elite badminton tournaments sanctioned by theBadminton 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.[66]
Men's doubles
| Year | Tournament | Level | Partner | Opponent | Score | Result | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | SaarLorLux Open | Super 100 | 23–21, 18–21, 19–21 | [31] | |||
| 2019 | All England Open | Super 1000 | 21–11, 14–21, 12–21 | [32] | |||
| 2020 (II) | Thailand Open | Super 1000 | 13–21, 18–21 | [37] | |||
| 2023 | India Open | Super 750 | 21–14, 19–21, 18–21 | [42] | |||
| 2023 | Indonesia Open | Super 1000 | 17–21, 18–21 | [43] | |||
| 2023 | China Open | Super 1000 | 12–21, 14–21 | [46] | |||
| 2023 | Denmark Open | Super 750 | 21–13, 21–17 | [47] | |||
| 2024 | All England Open | Super 1000 | 16–21, 16–21 | [49] | |||
| 2024 | Korea Masters | Super 300 | 21–23, 21–19, 21–14 | [51] | |||
| 2025 | Thailand Open | Super 500 | 20–22, 21–17, 21–12 | [55] | |||
| 2025 | Malaysia Masters | Super 500 | 12–21, 21–15, 16–21 | [56] | |||
| 2025 | Singapore Open | Super 750 | 15–21, 21–18, 21–19 | [57] | |||
| 2025 | China Open | Super 1000 | 15–21, 14–21 | [58] | |||
| 2025 | Arctic Open | Super 500 | 18–21, 27–25, 17–21 | [59] |
Men's doubles
| Year | Tournament | Partner | Opponent | Score | Result | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | Malaysia International | 22–24, 19–21 | [26] | |||
| 2017 | Waikato International | 16–21, 21–17, 19–21 | [26] | |||
| 2017 | Tata Open India International | 6–21, 9–21 | [25] | |||
| 2018 | Vietnam International | 18–21, 14–21 | [28] | |||
| 2018 | Malaysia International | 17–21, 21–17, 19–21 | [29] |
Record against year-end Finals finalists, World Championships semi-finalists, and Olympic quarter-finalists. Accurate as of13 August 2024.
Soh Wooi Yik and Aaron Chia lead the head-to-head record againstSatwiksairaj Rankireddy andChirag Shetty. Meanwhile, Chia and Soh have a poor head-to-head record againstMarcus Fernaldi Gideon andKevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo (2–9),Li Junhui &Liu Yuchen (0–6),Liang Weikeng andWang Chang (2–8), and alsoTakuro Hoki andYugo Kobayashi (2–8).[67]
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