Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik admitted the seven-point gap which they trailed South Korea’s Seo Seung-jae-Kim Won-ho in the deciding game ultimately cost them the Malaysia Open title.

Chia-Soh fought bravely against the in-form world number one pair, but ultimately lost 15-21, 21-12, 18-21 in a 66-minute men’s doubles final contest at the Axiata Arena on Sunday.

“To be honest, there wasn’t much difference between us and them. But we trailed them quite far in the deciding game (4-11), and that disrupted our momentum. Besides that, they were also calmer during the crucial rallies,” they said.

Chia-Soh’s defeat means the wait for a Malaysian men’s doubles pair to win this Super 1000 event continues.

Goh V Shem-Lim Kim Wah were the last local pair to win the Malaysia Open back in 2014.

This loss also means Chia-Soh have lost seven times in a Super 1000 final, adding to their All-England (2), Thailand Open, Indonesia Open and China Open (2) final defeats dating back to 2019.

But Soh vowed to keep believing and building on their progress.

“We have to keep fighting and believing. If we are consistent in our work and progress, I am sure we will deliver,” he added.

Other final results saw An Se-young win the women’s singles title for her third triumph at the Malaysia Open when the top seed overcame China’s Wang Zhi Yi 21-15, 24-22.

Thailand’s Kunlavut Vitidsarn claimed the men’s singles title after his opponent Shi Yu Qi retired early in the second game after the world number two won the first game 23-21.

China, meanwhile, returned with two titles from the women’s doubles and mixed doubles.

Tan Ning-Liu Sheng Shu beat South Koreans Baek Ha-na-Lee So-hee 21-18, 21-12 for the women’s doubles crown, while top seeds Feng Yan Zhe-Huang Dong Ping were equally clinical to win the mixed doubles title after beating compatriots Jiang Zhen Bang-Wei Ya Xin 21-19, 21-19.