Malaysian doubles shuttlers, led by world No. 5 Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik, made a big impact with five pairs checking into the China Masters quarter-finals in Shenzhen yesterday.
Marching into the last eight are world No. 8 Goh Sze Fei-Nur Izzuddin, women's doubles Pearly Tan-M. Thinaah (No. 6) as well as mixed doubles Chen Tang Jie-Toh Ee Wei (No. 10) and Hoo Pang Ron-Cheng Su Yin (No. 23).
Men's pair Aaron-Wooi Yik took a giant step into qualifying for the World Tour Final (WTF) when they defeated compatriots Nur Mohd Azriyn Ayub-Tan Wee Kiong 21-13, 21-19 in a 36-minute second round clash in the Super 750 event.
Needing to at least reach the semi-finals at the China Masters to safeguard their qualification for the WTF in Hangzhou on Dec 11 to 15, Aaron-Wooi Yik produced another impressive performance.
They will need to keep their momentum against China's World No. 6 He Ji Ting-Ren Xiang Yu in the quarter-finals where a win will secure them a place in the season-ending WTF. Ji Ting-Xiang Yu ousted Malaysia's Wan Arif Wan Junaidi-Yap Roy King in the second round with a 21-10, 21-19 win in 43 minutes.
World No. 8 Goh Sze Fei-Nur Izzuddin's unexpected defeat to compatriots Azriyn-Wee Kiong at the Kumamoto Masters last week may have been a wake-up call for the former. The high-riding Sze Fei-Izzuddin were brought down to earth by world No. 35 Azriyn-Wee Kiong in the second round.
"In the second game, we started following the opponents' rhythm. Despite having a good lead, we lost our direction a little bit once they started chasing," said Thinaah. "In the third game, we reminded ourselves to focus on every rally and every point."
Pearly said that Igarashi-Sakuramoto have a different style of play compared to other Japanese combinations who opt for long rallies. Thinaah also mentioned the need to recover fast to face China's Sheng Shu-Tan Ning who have a 5-3 advantage in head-to-head record.
Rising stars Pang Ron-Su Yin made headlines by toppling world No. 3 Jiang Zhen Bang-Wei Ya Xin 16-21, 21-14 , 21-19 to reach the last eight. Tang Jie-Ee Wei also did well to come from behind for a 14-21, 23-21, 21-8 win over France's world No. 17 Thom Gicquel-Delphine Delrue.
