One Malaysian men’s doubles pair is strongly tipped to reach the final of the Badminton World Championships in Paris later this month.
The draw released today shows potential for an all-Malaysian semi-final clash between Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik and Goh Sze Fei-Nur Izzuddin Mohd Rumsani.
Second seeds Aaron-Wooi Yik received a first-round bye and are expected to advance smoothly to the third round.
They could face either compatriots Wan Muhammad Arif Shaharuddin-Yap Roy King or Thailand’s Kittinupong Kedren-Dechapol Puavaranukroh in the quarter-finals.
A tougher challenge awaits in the quarter-finals, with India’s Satwiksairaj Rankireddy-Chirag Shetty or China’s Liang Wei Keng-Wang Chang as likely opponents.
Sze Fei-Nur Izzuddin, also starting with a bye, are projected to reach the quarter-finals with minimal resistance.
Their path could then pit them against Indonesia’s Sabar Karyaman-Moh Reza Isfahani or China’s Liu Yi-Chen Bo Yang.
In the women’s doubles, Pearly Tan-M Thinaah have a favourable draw and are strong contenders for the semi-finals.
The second seeds may face Indonesia’s Lanny Tria Mayasari-Siti Fadia Silva Ramadhanti in the quarter-finals.
Malaysia’s mixed doubles pair Chen Tang Jie-Toh Ee Wei will face a tough second-round test against Indonesia’s Jafar Hidayatullah-Felisha Pasaribu.
In men’s singles, Leong Jun Hao opens against Switzerland’s Tobias Kuenzi, while Lee Zii Jia meets South Korea’s Jeon Hyeok Jin.
Goh Jin Wei will take on China’s Gao Fang Jie in the women’s singles, while K Letshanaa faces Hong Kong’s Saloni S Mehta. – Bernama