Shenzhen: Malaysia’s top men’s doubles pair, Aaron Chia and Soh Wooi Yik, have kept their hopes alive of qualifying for the BWF World Tour Finals after advancing to the quarterfinals of the China Masters in Shenzhen today.
The world No. 5 duo secured their spot after defeating fellow Malaysians, Nur Mohd Azriyn Ayub and Tan Wee Kiong, 21-13, 21-19 in just 36 minutes in the second round of the 2024 China Masters which was held at the Shenzhen Gymnasium.
Highlights of Aaron Chia/Soh Wooi Yik vs. Nur Mohd Azriyn Ayub/Tan Wee Kiong in the 2024 China Masters second round:
Currently ranked ninth in the World Tour rankings, Chia/Soh need to reach the semifinals of the China Masters to boost their position into the top eight, securing a spot in the World Tour Finals in Hangzhou next month.
However, a tough challenge awaits them in their quest for a semifinal slot as they are scheduled to face the third-seeded Chinese pair, He Jing Ting and Ren Xiang Yu, in the quarterfinals on Friday.
Earlier, He Jing Ting and Ren Xiang Yu advanced after defeating another Malaysian pair, Wan Arif Wan Junaidi and Yap Roy King, 21-10, 21-19.
Meanwhile, Malaysia’s World No. 8 men’s doubles pair, Nur Izzuddin and Goh Sze Fei, who have already qualified for Hangzhou, progressed to the quarterfinals after overcoming Taiwanese duo Chiu Hsiang Chieh and Wang Chi-Lin 21-18, 21-16 in the second round.
Izzuddin/Goh will face Indonesia’s Sabar Karyaman Gutaman and Moh Reza Pahlevi Isfahani in their bid for a semifinal spot.
In the women’s doubles event, Malaysia’s Pearly Tan/Thinaah Muralitharan had to dig deep to overcome Japan’s Arisa Igarashi and Ayako Sakuramoto in a three-set thriller, winning 21-18, 18-21, 21-13 to advance to the quarterfinals.
They will next face the second-seeded Chinese pair, Liu Sheng Shu and Tan Ning, in the battle for a semifinal berth.
“We’re quite happy with the result today, but in the second set, we got trapped in their style of play. Even though we led, once they scored several consecutive points, we started to lose focus,” said Muralitharan in an interview with the BWF.
The Malaysian team also delivered impressive performances in the mixed doubles category as Chen Tang Jie/Toh Ee Wei and Hoo Pang Ron/Cheng Su Yin advanced to the quarterfinals. Chen/Toh are set to face Guo Xin Wa/Chen Fang Hui, while Hoo/Cheng will take on Taiwan’s Chen Cheng Kuan/Hsu Yin-Hui on Friday.
