KUALA LUMPUR: Taiwan’s Wang Chi-lin is not done yet despite winning two Olympic gold medals.
Instead, the 29-year-old is feeling re-energised with new partner Chiu Hsiang-chieh and aims to form another fearsome combination with the latter.
Chi-lin created history with former partner Lee Yang after becoming the first doubles pair to capture two Olympic titles in Tokyo in 2021 and Paris last year.
Lee Yang retired last year and Chi-lin then combined with the 22-year-old Hsiang-chieh.
Yesterday, the pair pulled off the biggest upset in the men’s doubles in the Malaysian Open when they beat Denmark’s world No. 1 Kim Astrup-Anders Skaarup Rasmussen 21-16, 18-21, 22-20 in a thrilling first round match at the Axiata Arena in Bukit Jalil.
Astrup-Rasmussen were one of the favourites for the title after a sensational end to 2024 when they captured the World Tour Finals crown in Hangzhou.
Chi-lin-Hsiang-chieh though defied the odds and fought brilliantly to claim their biggest win so far.
Chi-lin was pleased with the win but does not want to get carried away and wants to continue their good form.
“We are really happy as this is a new season and our first match and we could beat such a strong pair,” said Chi-lin.
“Beating the world No. 1 pair has surely has given us confidence but we want to calm down as we have only finished one match and we still have four more this week if we keep winning.”
Chi-lin is excited with the new challenge of playing with a different partner.
“For me, it’s really exciting because I can try new things and a new style. I don’t think it’s very difficult to start again with a new partner and I enjoy it,” said Chi-lin.
“Chiu is very young and is fast and powerful.
“Now, that I’m pairing with a young player, I need to move to the front court more.
“With Lee Yang, I smashed a lot from the back but now I can set up the shots for Chiu to attack.
“We want to play in many big tournaments like the World and Asian Championships, Asian Games and Olympics,” added Chi-lin, who is currently ranked No. 35 with Hsiang-chieh.
In the Malaysian tourney, Chi-lin-Hsiang-chieh will face either China’s Chen Boyang-Liu Yi or Thailand’s Peeratchai Sukphun-Pakkapon Teeraratsakul next for a place in the last eight.
