KUALA LUMPUR: Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik made a winning return as a permanent partnership, defeating defending champions Takuro Hoki-Yugo Kobayashi of Japan in the Denmark Open first round in Odense on Tuesday.
The world No. 4 Malaysians, playing together for the first time since their World Championships silver medal feat in August, battled for 51 minutes before prevailing 21-19, 14-21, 21-11 in a clash between two former world champion pairs.
The victory was a fitting start to their renewed partnership, which has been given the green light to continue until the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics following a brief separation under national men's doubles coach Herry Iman Pierngadi's reshuffling exercise.
For Wooi Yik, reuniting with Aaron after a decade together carries special significance, particularly with their Olympic gold dream still unfulfilled.
"It's special to be back again. I think we've been partners for 10 years," said Wooi Yik in a post-match interview.
"I think we both have our own dream that we haven't achieved yet. We still have something to push for.
"My focus, obviously, is LA. We hope that we can show more maturity and experience in our gameplay."
The pair, who won Olympic bronze medals at Tokyo 2020 and Paris 2024, had requested to resume their partnership following their silver medal at the World Championships in New Delhi.
Their wishes were eventually granted after discussions involving BA of Malaysia (BAM) performance committee chairman Datuk Seri Lee Chong Wei and the national coaching team.
During their temporary separation, Aaron partnered youngster Aaron Tai and reached the Taiwan Open final, while Wooi Yik finished runner-up at the Korea Masters alongside Man Wei Chong.
Aaron acknowledged that playing with scratch partners carried different expectations compared with an established combination.
He felt the temporary partnerships sometimes allowed players to perform more freely without the pressure associated with a long-standing pairing.
Nonetheless, the 29-year-old believes their preparations for Los Angeles remain on course.
"I think we're on track," said Aaron, who added that their focus would be on building towards 2027.
Their reunion could hardly have begun against tougher opponents.
Hoki-Kobayashi, the 2021 world champions and world No. 8, held a commanding advantage in their previous meetings, although the Malaysians had beaten them at last year's Singapore Open.
Tuesday's victory extended Aaron-Wooi Yik's winning streak against the Japanese to two matches despite trailing 9-4 in their overall head-to-head record.
Aaron credited their improved concentration and fewer unforced errors in the deciding game for the victory.
"We focused on what we had to do in the third game and grabbed our opportunities," he said.
"We've played them many times, so we know each other's game. We just had to focus and make fewer unforced errors."
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The fourth seeds, who won the Denmark Open in 2023, will face either South Korea's Kang Min Hyuk-Lee Jong Min or compatriots Aaron Tai-Yap Roy King in the second round.
An all-Malaysian clash would provide another interesting subplot, with Aaron Tai-Roy King arriving in Denmark fresh from winning the Arctic Open title in Finland on Sunday.
Meanwhile, K. Letshanaa's struggles continued as the world No. 27 suffered a 21-5, 21-18 defeat to home favourite and world No. 12 Line Christophersen in just 32 minutes.
It was Letshanaa's second defeat in as many meetings against the Dane, following their German Open encounter last year.
The latest setback extended a worrying run for the 23-year-old, who has failed to progress beyond the second round in eight consecutive individual tournaments since reaching the Malaysia Masters quarter-finals in May.
Five of those campaigns ended in the opening round, raising concerns over her ability to maintain the top-30 ranking she worked hard to achieve.
It represents a sharp contrast to her promising start to 2026, when she reached the Indonesia Masters semi-finals and the quarter-finals of both the Thailand Masters and Malaysia Masters, the latter featuring a breakthrough victory over Japan's then-world No. 9 Tomoka Miyazaki.
© New Straits Times Press (M) Bhd