Kuala Lumpur: A challenging road awaits Malaysia’s World No. 8 men’s singles, Lee Zii Jia, at the 2024 BWF World Tour Finals, set to begin next Wednesday in Hangzhou, China.
Lee, whose form has been inconsistent since claiming a bronze medal at the Paris 2024 Olympics, has been drawn into Group A alongside World No. 2 Anders Antonsen from Denmark. Completing the group are Taiwan’s Chou Tien-Chen and China’s Li Shifeng, making it one of the most competitive pools in the tournament.
With the World Tour Finals serving as a farewell event for his coach Wong Tat Meng, Lee Zii Jia has the opportunity to deliver a memorable performance as a parting gift.
In the men’s doubles category, Malaysia’s representatives, Nur Izzuddin Rumsani-Goh Sze Fei, and Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik, managed to avoid early encounters as they were placed in different groups during today’s draw.
The World No. 7 Goh Sze Fei-Nur Izzuddin landed in Group A alongside Denmark’s world No. 3 pair, Kim Astrup-Anders Skaarup Rasmussen, and two Taiwanese pairs, Lee Jhe-huei-Yang Po-hsuan and Lee Yang-Wang Chi-lin.
Meanwhile, Olympic bronze medalists Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik are placed in Group B with tough competition from two Indonesian pairs, Fajar Alfian-Muhammad Rian Ardianto and Sabar Karyaman Gutama-Muhammad Reza Pahlevi Isfahani, as well as China’s He Jiting-Ren Xiangyu.
Malaysia’s top women’s doubles pair, Pearly Tan-Thinaah Muralitharan, face a daunting challenge in what is being called the “Group of Death.” The duo is in Group A alongside China’s world No. 1 pair, Liu Sheng Shu-Tan Ning, and Japan’s world No. 4 pair, Nami Matsuyama-Chiharu Shida.
In mixed doubles, Malaysia’s two pairs, Goh Soon Huat-Shevon Lai and Chen Tang Jie-Toh Ee Wei, will face each other early in the competition as both were drawn into Group B. This guarantees a Malaysian presence in the group stage drama but adds an early layer of complexity to Malaysia’s hopes.
According to the BWF World Tour Finals tournament format, only the top two players or pairs from each group will advance to the semifinals. With such a high-stakes setup, every match will count as Malaysia’s shuttlers aim to secure a spot in the final rounds of this elite event.
