KUALA LUMPUR: World No. 4 Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik believe they are steadily regaining peak form as they progress towards defending their Denmark Open title.
Yesterday (Oct 17), Aaron-Wooi Yik overcame compatriots Man Wei Chong-Tee Kai Wun 21-23, 21-17, 21-16 in a hard-fought 58-minute match to reach the quarter-finals in Odense.
During the post-match interview, Aaron touched on the "positive atmosphere" at the venue where they clinched their first World Tour victory after six final attempts.
"We've got good feelings here as Denmark holds special significance for us.
We secured our maiden World Tour title here, and we're determined to retain it," Aaron said.
Wooi Yik viewed their quarter-final berth as a sign of progress following his recent recovery from a toe injury.
"We're still far from our Olympic form, but we're striving to regain our rhythm and peak performance with each match," Wooi Yik said.
"Our play improved today, and we hope to build on this momentum."
He acknowledged the need to be at their best, facing formidable opponents such as world No. 1 Liang Wei Keng-Wang Chang of China and No. 2 Kim Astrup-Anders Skaarup Rasmussen of Denmark in the tournament.
"Both Liang-Wang and Kim-Anders are a threat, they're in excellent form," Wooi Yik added.
"We hope to emulate their consistency, as we tend to be more erratic."
Aaron-Wooi Yik will face China's Chen Bo Yang-Liu Yi in the quarter-finals later today.
Another Malaysian pair, Yap Roy King-Wan Arif Junaidi, struggled against Astrup-Rasmussen, succumbing to a tame 21-14, 21-7 defeat.