Aaron Chia – Unfortunately, early in their career, they reached the only doubles in 11 finals. Now, they have won 3 of the 4 matches they compete in, in 1 month or 30 days! What has changed in their game? Let’s discuss it.

All the promises Aaron Chia and Soh Wooi Yik have shown in their early careers, and their record is working hard. Starting in 2017, they will pair and compete in Super 100 seasons and equivalents, and they reach 4 finals, all 4 times. From 2018 to 2023, they competed in senior competitions, they competed in 8 finals, they won only 2 wins, 2 wins, and the World Championship opened in 2022, in 2023, but opened in Denmark in 2023.

After that, they still played hot and cold, and eventually reached 2 finals in 2024, losing in the entire England but winning the Korean Masters. They once again won bronze medals at the Olympics, repeating their feats.

Aaron Chia and Soh Wooi Yik seem to be men who are almost men in doubles discipline. They are very good, but not enough to cross the finish line first. They have excellent skills, excellent defense, excellent offense and smooth gameplay. But somehow, they lacked the ultimate push and put it in the first place.

I’ve always wondered what happened to these two guys. Is this a mental disorder? Or tactics? Or two? I gave them a rather incredible nickname: “Loser.” But when they show the form they made in May 2025, I vowed to put down the nickname and call what they deserved: “winner.”

It was such an interesting change that happened to both of them. It coincides with the arrival of Heri IP. A legendary coach and master tactician who manages to play the best of these 2 men. Let’s take a look at some of the tactical changes that have taken place.

Locate during attack

The snapshot reached the World Tour final in 2025, with Aaron Chia and Soh Wooi Yik playing Gautam and Isfahani again. That was before Herry IP arrived and transformed their way of playing.

In this snapshot during the attack, we can see Aaron Chia being smashed while soh wooi yik takes a position directly in front of Aaron Chia. The tactical positioning is as follows:

This tactical positioning is suitable for direct attacks. A straight-shot attack with good strength makes it difficult for opponents to send their defensive shots to the side. That is when players covering the front can attack and complete the game. However, the game has developed a little bit, and this approach is not as effective as it used to be.

This tactical approach requires players to have a strong crush in the rear. The type of attack is what I call brute force attack. The way players try to smash themselves in defense. And, when he does, the opponent can’t get a good defensive return, and the guy in front can do it easily. It’s the tan Heong and Koo Kien Keat because Tan Boon Heong has a wonderful crush. Goh V Shem and Tan Wee Kiong also agree on the same strategy. Shetty and Rankireddy also used this approach, as did the legendary Setiawan and Mohammed Ahsan and Liang Wei Keng and Wang Chang.

In this era, doubles have extremely strong defensive capabilities, and this tactical method is not effective. We have seen Aaron Chia and Soh Wooi Yik defend against such strategies themselves easily. These 2 have excellent defense and are never afraid to rely on it.

With the arrival of Herry IP, Aaron Chia and Soh Wooi Yik changed their tactical positioning.

This snapshot is from the Singapore Open 2025, where they faced Seo Seung Jae and Kim Wan Ho. Koreans are insiders because they have been in a good winning streak since the reform of the partnership. Aaron Chia and Soh Wooi Yik manage to stop this.

In this snapshot, Aaron Chia attacks again, but see where soh wooi yik is. He didn’t take a popular stance in front of the crushed man. He occupies a more central position on the “T”.

Honestly, I may be a little biased about this positioning. This is my preferred position as a young player. This positioning can bring more game changes to the attacking players on the back.

This formation allows players to attack in any area behind, watch in the central area, and it all comes into play. Its main requirement is that when the current player launches an attack, the forward players must be alert to any cross-court counterattack.

This is where the players ahead need to intercept and counterattack attacks. This tactical positioning will turn on more attack changes when current players can do this.

Successfully using this construct requires a lot of rotation. When the player on the current side intercepts the counterattack, he will have to move quickly backwards while the player moves forward to cover the open space.

This vitality means both players must be comfortable enough to cover up the front and back courts. Players have no fixed position and must be strong in every aspect of the court.

Less improvements more flat dramas

In the past, Aaron Chia and Soh Wooi Yik tended to lift the shuttle and rely on their defensive abilities. Despite their strong defense, relying on it is not a good idea, as the opponent will eventually find a way.

Herry IP coaches asked them to lift less, and if possible, not lift at all, but use flat games to get out of the situation. Instead of lifting it, move it faster and then push the shuttle or drive the lower arc. This forces the opponent to make flat returns, or improve them as well.

By giving opponents less chance of attack, this makes them harder to beat. When the opponent finally launches an offense, they must pass through the solid defense of Aaron Chia and Soh Wooi Yik. That has never been an easy task.

More confident

When their offensive performances were even more successful as they adopted a new formation, it gave Aaron Chia and Soh Wooi Yik confidence. In the past, their main weakness was always their attacks, where they could not end up with Seo Seung Jae and anyone else he worked with. But given their more creative freedom in attacks, they found success and fueled their confidence.

By adopting a reduction and more leveling approach, they also limit the chances of opponents attacking them. When opponents finally find a chance to attack them, they have almost indestructible defensive capabilities to rely on.

Given these three factors, it completely changes them. They have always been the top of men’s doubles. Maybe now, they finally become a world-class couple who can beat anyone.

That’s it.

Until the next entry, Eat well, get enough rest and keep badminton moving forwardWoolen cloth