KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia’s men’s doubles Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik face an early acid test in the World Tour Finals on Dec 17–21 in Hangzhou, China, after they were drawn in the “Group of Death” in today.
Second seeds Aaron-Wooi Yik are grouped with India’s world No. 3 Satwiksairaj Rankireddy-Chirag Shetty, China‘s world No. 7 Liang Wei Keng-Wang Chang and Indonesia’s world No. 9 Fajar Alfian-Shohibul Fikri. All four pairs have an equal chance to claim the two semi-final spots.
Malaysia’s world No. 5 Man Wei Chong-Tee Kai Wun, however, have a fighting chance to reach the last four as they are grouped with world No. 1 Kim Won Ho-Seo Seung Jae of South Korea, Indonesia’s world No. 8 Sabar Karyaman-Moh Reza Isfahani and Taiwan’s world No. 16 Chiu Hsiang Chieh-Wang Chi Lin.
Former men’s doubles world No. 1 Lee Wan Wah said top seeds Won Ho–Seung Jae will be the pair to beat, while Aaron-Wooi Yik’s chances will depend on their form.
Wan Wah, who is currently the Japan men’s doubles head coach, added that Won Ho–Seung Jae have been the most dominant pair after winning a record 10 titles this year, equalling the mark set by Chinese legends Li Yong Bo–Tian Bing Yi in 1988.
“Based on this year’s results, I think Won Ho-Seung Jae will definitely go in as the favourites. They’ve been the most consistent pair on the circuit, so naturally they will be the ones to beat,” said Wan Wah, who was world No. 1 with Choong Tan Fook in 2004.
“A close second would be Fajar–Shohibul, who have also shown strong form this season. But if Aaron–Wooi Yik rise to the occasion and play at the level we know they’re capable of, they certainly have a fair chance of challenging for the title.
“Overall, it’s going to be a very close tournament — the margins are small, and anything can happen if we look at the draw.”
Wan Wah left Wei Chong-Kai Wun out of his top three due to the left calf injury suffered by Kai Wun.
Kai Wun, who sustained the injury in October, has persisted in playing on the World Tour and is currently competing at the Thailand SEA Games without fully recovering, and it remains to be seen if they will be at their best at the WTF.
“As for Wei Chong–Kai Wun, much will depend on how well Kai Wun recovers from his injury,” added Wan Wah
Meanwhile, women’s doubles world No. 2 Pearly Tan-M. Thinaah also received a tough preliminary draw as they were grouped with Chinese bogey pair Jia Yi Fan-Zhang Shu Xian, as well as Japanese combinations — world No. 6 Yuki Fukushima-Mayu Matsumoto and world No. 7 Rin Iwanaga-Kie Nakanishi — in Group A.
Top-seeded Pearly-Thinaah should secure their last-four berth by beating both Japanese pairs, but it will be a tough task against world No. 6 Yi Fan-Shu Xian, who hold a 5-1 head-to-head record over the Malaysians.
Meanwhile, mixed doubles world champions Chen Tang Jie-Toh Ee Wei and independent world No. 9 Goh Soon Huat-Shevon Lai were drawn in Group B.
World No. 3 Tang Jie-Ee Wei should overcome compatriots Soon Huat–Shevon and Indonesia’s world No. 10 Jafar Hidayatullah-Felisha Pasaribu to secure their last-four berth.
The Malaysian duo will also be aiming to beat world No. 2 Feng Yan Zhe-Huang Dong Ping of China to finish as group winners and possibly avoid a duel against Thailand’s top seeds Dechapol Puavaranukroh-Supissara Paewsampran, who are in Group A.
The increased prize money for the doubles, from US$210,000 (RM846,147) to US$252,000, will further intensify the competition and serve as an added incentive for Malaysians to secure the WTF crown for the first time.
The last Malaysian pair to win the men’s doubles crown before the tournament was rebranded as WTF were Goh V Shem–Tan Wee Kiong at the 2016 Super Series Finals.
Men’s singles
Group A: Kunlavut Vitidsarn (Tha), Anders Antonsen (Den), Christo Popov (Fra), Jonatan Christie (Ina).
Group B: Li Shi Feng (Chn), Chou Tien Chen (Tai), Shi Yu Qi (Chn), Kodai Naraoka (Jpn).
Men’s doubles
Group A: Kim Won Ho-Seo Seung Jae (Kor), Man Wei Chong-Tee Kai Wun, Sabar Karyaman–Moh Reza Isfahani (Ina), Chiu Hsiang Chieh-Wang Chi Lin (Tai).
Group B: Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik, Satwiksairaj Rankireddy-Chirag Shetty (Ind), Liang Wei Keng-Wang Chang (Chn), Fajar Alfian-Shohibul Fikri (Ina).
Women’s singles
Group A: An Se Young (Kor), Akane Yamaguchi (Jpn), Putri Kusuma Wardani (Ina), Tomoka Miyazaki (Jpn).
Group B: Wang Zhi Yi (Chn), Han Yue (Chn), Pornpawee Chochuwong (Tha), Ratchanok Intanon (Tha).
Women’s doubles
Group A: Pearly Tan-M. Thinaah, Jia Yi Fan-Zhang Shu Xian (Chn), Yuki Fukushima-Mayu Matsumoto (Jpn), Rin Iwanaga-Kie Nakanishi (Jpn).
Group B: Kim Hye Jeong-Kong Hee Yong (Kor), Liu Sheng Shu-Tan Ning (Chn), Baek Ha Na-Lee So Hee (Kor), Hsieh Pei Shan-Hung En Tzu (Tai).
Mixed doubles
Group A: Dechapol Puavaranukroh-Supissara Paewsampran (Tha), Jiang Zhen Bang-Wei Ya Xin (Chn), Thom Gicquel-Delphine Delrue (Fra), Hiroki Midorikawa-Natsu Saito (Jpn).
Group B: Feng Yan Zhe-Huang Dong Ping (Chn), Chen Tang Jie-Toh Ee Wei, Goh Soon Huat-Shevon Lai, Jafar Hidayatullah-Felisha Pasaribu (Ina).
© New Straits Times Press (M) Bhd
