Malaysian shuttlers TEE Kai Wun and Aaron Chia are set to face South Korea’s top men’s doubles pair, Kim Won-ho and Seo Seung-jae, in the second round of the Asian Games men’s doubles event, scheduled for Sunday at the Ichinomiya City Municipal Gymnasium in Aichi, Japan. The match presents a significant challenge, as Kai Wun has yet to secure a victory against the Korean duo, having lost all six meetings while partnering Man Wei Chong earlier this year, including a quarter-final at the Malaysian Open in January.

Aaron Chia, however, brings recent success over the Koreans to the partnership. Last month at the World Championships in New Delhi, he and Soh Wooi Yik upset Kim and Seo in the semi-finals, preventing them from defending their title. The pair has also defeated the South Koreans previously at the Singapore Open final last year, marking two wins in five encounters.

Kai Wun acknowledged that as an unseeded pair competing together for the first time at the Asian Games, encountering highly ranked opponents early in the tournament was expected. “As an unseeded pair, there is nothing much we can do because everything is determined by the rankings. All we can do is prepare well and go out there and fight,” he said.

The duo advanced to the second round after a straight-game victory against Tajikistan’s Odilzhon Abdurakhimov and Dzhumaboi Saidov on Saturday, winning 21-16, 21-16.

In the women’s doubles event, Malaysians Pearly Tan and M. Thinaah progressed comfortably with a 21-13, 21-11 win over Indonesia’s Febi Setianingrum and Rachel Allesya. They will face Thailand’s Hathaithip Mijad and Napapakon Tungkasatan in the second round.

Meanwhile, the men’s doubles pair Goh Sze Fei and Nur Izzuddin prepare to meet former world champions Takuro Hoki and Yugo Kobayashi of Japan. The two pairs have an even head-to-head record with three wins apiece in six encounters, their latest meeting being a first-round victory for the Malaysians at last year’s French Open.

Goh and Nur Izzuddin reached the second round by defeating Taiwan’s Wang Chi-lin and Chiu Hsiang-chieh 21-17, 21-14 on Saturday. Both Malaysian doubles pairs, along with Tan and Thinaah, aim to secure quarter-final berths as the competition intensifies.