KUALA LUMPUR: National padel duo Christian Didier Chin and Aidan Yunus carved out a landmark achievement for Malaysian sports after securing a historic silver medal at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games on Saturday.
Competing in padel's official debut at the continental games, the unheralded pair fell 6-3, 6-1 to Qatari top seeds Mashari Naif and Rashed Naif in a 55-minute final at the Nagoya City Higashi Sports Centre, despite holding an early 3-1 lead in the opening set.
Christian described bringing home silver as a major milestone as their initial target was just the semi-finals, while Aidan noted the big-stage exposure would serve as crucial motivation for the 2027 SEA Games on home soil.
Over at the Gifu Stadium, Malaysia's direct qualification route to the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics was cut short as the national men's hockey team ended up as Asian Games bridesmaids for the third time following a 5-1 defeat to India in the final.
