KUALA LUMPUR: Lady luck smiled on Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik as the world No. 5 capitalised on injury woes suffered by Fajar Alfian-Muhammad Rian Ardianto to secure their second Group A victory at the World Tour Finals (WTF) in Hangzhou today.
The Malaysians overcame the world No. 4 Indonesians in a hard-fought 19-21, 21-15, 21-14 win that lasted 58 minutes.
Aaron-Wooi Yik looked set to take the opening game comfortably when Fajar suffered a left ankle sprain at 14-14, requiring medical attention.
However, the stoppage disrupted the Malaysians' rhythm, and they lost the first game.
The second and third games saw Aaron-Wooi Yik recover their composure, leveraging their opponents' limited mobility to take control of the match.
It marked the second consecutive match, where the Malaysians benefitted from their opponents' injuries.
On Wednesday, Aaron-Wooi Yik overcame China's world No. 6 He Ji Ting-Zhou Xiang Yu 17-21, 21-18, 21-15 after Zhou suffered a back injury during the second game.
Aaron-Wooi Yik, who have never advanced to the semi-finals of the WTF, now have a golden opportunity to break their jinx.
A victory over Indonesia's world No. 11 Sabar Karyaman Gutama-Mohammad Reza Pahlevi tomorrow will confirm their place in the last four.
Meanwhile, Sabar-Reza kept their semi-final hopes alive by defeating Ji Ting-Xiang Yu 21-17, 21-11 earlier today.