KUALA LUMPUR: The country’s top men’s doubles pair Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik suffered a severe blow in their pursuit for a spot in the 2024 Badminton World Federation (BWF) World Tour Finals after losing their quarter-final bout at the 2024 China Masters in Shenzhen, yesterday.
Aaron-Wooi Yik, who needed to advance to the semi-finals to move into the top eight of the BWF World Tour Finals, had to settle for the prowess of the home pair He Ji Ting-Ren Xiang Yu in a match that went into the deciding set.
The 2024 Paris Olympics bronze medallist, who were placed as the fifth seed of the tournament, started on the wrong foot, losing the first set 23-25 before coming back to win the second set 21-17 and force the match into a deciding set.
However, in the deciding set, Aaron-Wooi Yik, who were looking a bit tired, failed to match the prowess of the opposing pair when they lost 12-21.
The loss to the third seed would certainly affect the chances of Aaron-Wooi Yik as they are currently in ninth spot in the ranking for the BWF World Tour Finals scheduled next month in Hangzhou, China.
Aaron-Wooi Yik’s chances to Hangzhou would now largely depend on how other pairs perform in the China Masters which ends on Sunday.
Another Malaysian pair, Goh Sze Fei-Nur Izzuddin Rumsani who are currently in fourth spot in the race for the BWF World Tour Finals, have virtually confirmed their spot.
Meanwhile, Sze Fei-Nur Izzuddin suffered a surprise 21-18, 19-21, 21-23 defeat to unseeded Sabar Karyaman Gutama-Moh Reza Pahlevi Isfahani of Indonesia in another quarter-final clash, thus adding to the pressure on Aaron-Wooi Yik.
The success of reaching the semi-finals will undoubtedly further strengthen the position of Sabar Karyaman-Moh Reza who currently occupy eighth position in the BWF World Tour Final rankings.
Meanwhile, the national women’s doubles pair Pearly Tan-M. Thinaah proved to be no match for the home pairing of Liu Sheng Shu-Tan Ning after losing to the second seeds 16-21, 17-21 in 48 minutes.
Pearly-Thinaah are however, not expected to face any problems to be in Hangzhou as they are currently in a comfortable fifth position in the BWF World Finals rankings.–BERNAMA
