Aaron-Wooi Yik stun world No. 1s, Pearly-Thinaah end 18-year wait as Malaysia get two Denmark Open finals

Malaysia will have two pairs in the Denmark Open finals in Odense on Sunday, 18 October. In the semi-finals on Saturday, Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik beat the world No. 1 pair, Kim Won Ho-Seo Seung Jae of South Korea, 21-14, 21-18. Pearly Tan-M. Thinaah then beat China's Bao Li Jing-Cao Zi Han 21-16, 21-14 to put Malaysia into the women's doubles final for the first time since 2008. Mixed doubles pair Hoo Pang Ron-Lai Pei Jing went out to China's top seeds, so two of Malaysia's three semi-finalists are through to the last day of the Super 750 event.

Aaron-Wooi Yik beat the top seeds in 38 minutes

The fourth seeds, ranked fourth in the world, beat Kim-Seo in straight games in 38 minutes. Malay Mail and Bernama both report that the result levels the head-to-head with the Korean top seeds at 3-3. The former world champions only recently reunited after the national set-up reshuffled its pairs.

Next they play Indonesia's Fajar Alfian-Muhammad Shohibul Fikri. The third seeds came through the other semi-final against China's second seeds, Liang Wei Keng-Wang Chang, winning 21-16, 16-21, 21-16. With the top two seeds both beaten on Saturday, the men's doubles title will be decided between the third and fourth seeds.

Pearly-Thinaah end Malaysia's long wait

Pearly-Thinaah are the second seeds in women's doubles. They beat the sixth seeds Bao-Cao in 37 minutes without dropping a game. Malaysia had not had a women's doubles finalist in Odense since Wong Pei Tty-Chin Eei Hui won the title in 2008, which is still the country's best result in the event.

They will play unseeded Japanese pair Hinata Suzuki-Nao Yamakita in the final. Suzuki-Yamakita knocked out compatriots and seventh seeds Sumire Nakade-Miyu Takahashi 21-18, 18-21, 21-18 in the last women's doubles match of the semi-final day.

Pang Ron-Pei Jing stopped by the world No. 1s

Hoo Pang Ron-Lai Pei Jing are ranked 51st in the world and are not part of the national set-up. They lost 21-13, 21-13 in 36 minutes to China's Feng Yan Zhe-Huang Dong Ping, the world No. 1s and top seeds. The Star noted that it was the Malaysians' second semi-final of the year, after they finished as runners-up at the China Masters last month.

The mixed doubles final is an all-Chinese match. Feng-Huang play second seeds Jiang Zhen Bang-Wei Ya Xin, who came from a game down to beat eighth seeds Cheng Xing-Zhang Chi 17-21, 21-12, 21-13.

Sunday's finals line-up and Malaysia time

According to the tournament schedule, the finals session on Sunday, 18 October starts at 12pm local time, which is 6pm in Malaysia. The order of play had not been published when this article was written. These are the five finals, confirmed by the BWF results:

• Men's singles: Alex Lanier (France, seventh seed) v Anders Antonsen (Denmark, fifth seed)
• Women's singles: An Se Young (South Korea, top seed) v Akane Yamaguchi (Japan, third seed)
• Men's doubles: Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik (Malaysia) v Fajar Alfian-Muhammad Shohibul Fikri (Indonesia)
• Women's doubles: Pearly Tan-M. Thinaah (Malaysia) v Hinata Suzuki-Nao Yamakita (Japan)
• Mixed doubles: Feng Yan Zhe-Huang Dong Ping (China) v Jiang Zhen Bang-Wei Ya Xin (China)

In the singles semi-finals, Lanier beat Canada's Victor Lai 21-19, 21-10 and Antonsen came back to beat second seed Christo Popov 9-21, 21-16, 21-13. Yamaguchi beat China's Wang Zhi Yi 21-10, 21-19, and An Se Young beat Nozomi Okuhara 21-16, 21-8.

Key takeaways

• Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik beat world No. 1s Kim Won Ho-Seo Seung Jae 21-14, 21-18, levelling their head-to-head at 3-3.
• Pearly Tan-M. Thinaah won 21-16, 21-14 to become Malaysia's first Denmark Open women's doubles finalists since 2008.
• Hoo Pang Ron-Lai Pei Jing lost 21-13, 21-13 to top seeds Feng Yan Zhe-Huang Dong Ping.
• The finals session starts at 6pm Malaysia time on Sunday, 18 October.

FAQ

Who do Aaron Chia and Soh Wooi Yik face in the Denmark Open final? They play Indonesia's third seeds Fajar Alfian-Muhammad Shohibul Fikri, who beat China's Liang Wei Keng-Wang Chang in three games.

When did a Malaysian women's pair last win the Denmark Open? Wong Pei Tty-Chin Eei Hui won it in 2008. Pearly-Thinaah are the first Malaysian women's pair to reach the final since then.

What time do the Denmark Open 2026 finals start in Malaysia? The finals session begins at 12pm in Odense on Sunday, 18 October, which is 6pm Malaysia time. The order of play decides when each Malaysian pair goes on court.

Sources: Bernama, Malay Mail, The Star, BWF, Denmark Open