KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 2 — National men’s doubles shuttlers Man Wei Chong-Tee Kai Wun have not given up hope of being among the top eight pairs in the Race to Paris and achieve their dream of making their Olympic debut next year.

With just six months left before the qualifying rounds for Paris 2024 end next April, Wei Chong said it was vital for them to continue to step up to the plate in the Super 500 competitions and collect as many points as possible to boost their quest to qualify for the Paris Olympics.

Wei Chong-Kai Wun are currently ranked 15th in the Road to Paris qualifiers with 45,320 points to be placed behind 2022 world champions Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik in second spot (82,294 points) and professional pair Ong Yew Sin-Teo Ee Yi in 11th position (56,100 points).

"There is always a chance to make the Olympics but we must perform better... cannot always lose in the first round or the second round.

"We must aim to reach a higher level and then make a breakthrough from there,” he told the media after Wei Chong and Kai Wun were appointed as ambassadors of real estate developer NCT Alliance here today.

A country will only be allowed to have two pairs if both pairs are ranked among the world’s top eight.

World number 22 Wei Chong-Kai Wun have won three Super 300 status tournaments, so far, namely the Syed Modi India International 2022 as well as the Taiwan Open in 2022 and 2023.

As for the top-flight Super 500 status tournaments, they have only emerged runners-up twice — in the Masters Malaysia 2023 and Arctic Open 2023.

Meanwhile, Kai Wun described the maiden sponsorship received so far as a motivation for them to continue to work hard in their effort to bring glory to the country.

Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) president Tan Sri Mohamad Norza Zakaria, who also attended the function, also threw down the gauntlet to Wei Chong-Kai Wun to be more aggressive in the upcoming tournaments.

He also hoped that they could follow in the footsteps of Aaron Chia-Wooi Yik, who have been playing very consistently thus far. — Bernama