Still going strong: Kim Astrup (left) and Anders Skaarup Rasmussen are plotting to turn the tables on Aaron Chia and Soh Wooi Yik to give Denmark a crucial point.
CHENGDU: Denmark’s veterans Kim Astrup-Anders Skaarup Rasmussen are bracing themselves for a fast and furious encounter against national pair Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik in today’s Group D clash in the Thomas Cup Finals.
The two teams will face off in a huge match to decide the group winners and world No. 4 Astrup-Rasmussen are set to play world No. 5 Aaron-Wooi Yik in the first doubles.
Both pairs know each other well, having met nine times in international tournaments with Aaron-Wooi Yik holding the advantage with six wins.
Astrup-Rasmussen, though, are plotting to turn the tables on the 2022 world champions this time and give their team a crucial point.
The Danes have enjoyed playing Aaron-Wooi Yik in their previous matches and know they need to be on top of their game from the start.
“We like to play against them, we had some fun games against them in the past,” said Astrup.
“They are fast and furious and it’s always extremely intense when we play against them.
“So, if we meet them, we will be ready for a fast game. It’s going to be a close match as it’s (world ranking) No. 4 against No. 5.”
In their last encounter, Aaron-Wooi Yik beat 32-year-old Astrup, 32 and Rasmussen, 35, in the semi-finals of the latter’s home Open last October.
The match was significant for both pairs as the Danes were flying high before Aaron-Wooi Yik ended their strong run and went on to capture their first ever World Tour title.
A win this time will also be important for both pairs as it could decide the faith of both their teams.
Meanwhile, in the second doubles, world No. 18 Rasmus Kjaer-Frederik Sogaard are aiming to come out on top over Goh Sze Fei-Nur Izzuddin Rumsani.
This will be the first meeting between both the pairs.
Kjaer-Sogaard, who started playing together in 2022, proved that they can upset the top pairs when they stunned China’s world No. 1 Liang Weikeng-Wang Chang twice last year.
The Danes also pushed Aaron-Wooi Yik hard in the first round of the Malaysian Open in January before going down in three games.
On the match against Sze Fei-Izzuddin, Kjaer said: “We have never played them before but we know they are a world class pair.
“It will definitely be a difficult match for us. ‘‘We will watch more videos of them to get a feel of their game.
“When you have played against a pair many times, you kind of know their game, so in this case, we need to do more homework.
“We will also of course be focusing on ourselves and we hope to win.”
