KUALA LUMPUR: Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik admitted they are currently performing at only 50 per cent of their true ability, the same form that earned them an Olympic bronze at the Paris Games.
The world No. 4 were far from their best as they lost 22-20, 21-15 to China's Chen Bo Yang-Liu Yi in the Denmark Open quarter-finals in Odense on Friday.
It was their first defeat in three meetings against the world No. 21 Chinese pair.
However, fans should not be too concerned, as Aaron-Wooi Yik had skipped four tournaments following Wooi Yik's toe fracture during the Paris Olympics.
They only returned to action at last week's Arctic Open.
For the record, Aaron and Wooi Yik defeated Chen and Liu in the first round of the Arctic Open in Finland, winning in straight games.
Wooi Yik admitted they were not up to standard on Friday.
"Compared to the Olympics, this was about 50 per cent of how we performed in Paris. It could have been better," said Wooi Yik.
"Our rhythm was not smooth. We were also slow in executing the first few shots at the front court and made quite a few mistakes.
"It's time to focus on training and learn how to compete better against the top pairs."
Aaron added that they plan to complete the remaining tournaments this year before going back to the drawing board for next year's World Tour.
"We probably have three more events this year. After that, we'll take a good rest and start fresh again," said Aaron.
"Against Bo Yang-Liu Yi, we had the lead in the first game, but they stayed strong in the crucial stages.
"In the second game, we made a lot of unforced errors. They were defensively solid today, and they deserved the win."
Aaron-Wooi Yik missed their chance to take control when they held game point at 20-18 in the first game, only for the Chinese pair to score four consecutive points and snatch victory.
The young Chinese pair never looked back after that.
Aaron-Wooi Yik are expected to compete in the Kumamoto Masters (Nov 12-17) and the China Masters (Nov 19-24).
They will likely finish their season at the World Tour Finals in Hangzhou from Dec 11-15.