KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 23 — Luck favoured Malaysia’s top men’s doubles pair, Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik, as they secured a spot in the 2024 Badminton World Federation (BWF) World Tour Finals despite their quarterfinal exit at the 2024 China Masters in Shenzhen yesterday.

The BWF, in a post on X (formerly Twitter) today, confirmed that Aaron-Wooi Yik, along with Indonesia’s Sabar Karyaman Gutama-Moh Reza Pahlevi Isfahani, claimed the final two slots to join six pairs who had already secured their places earlier.

Among those already confirmed are Malaysia’s professional men’s doubles pair, Goh Sze Fei-Nur Izzuddin Rumsani.

Aaron-Wooi Yik’s mission to qualify for the BWF World Tour Finals suffered a setback when they were eliminated in the quarterfinals of the China Masters after losing to the host’s third-seeded pair, He Ji Ting-Ren Xiang Yu, in 23-25, 21-17, 12-21.

The defeat affected Aaron-Wooi Yik’s chances, forcing the Paris 2024 Olympic bronze medallists to rely on the performances of other pairs.

This will mark Aaron-Wooi Yik’s fifth appearance in the BWF World Tour Finals after competing in the 2019, 2020, 2022 and 2023 editions.

Other Malaysian representatives who gave qualified for the World Tour Finals are mixed doubles pairs Cheng Tang Jie-Toh Ee Wei and Goh Soon Huat-Shevon Lai; women’s doubles Pearly Tan-M Thinaah and Paris 2024 men’s singles bronze medallist Lee Zii Jia after their spots amongst the top eight were assured in their respective categories.

The tournament will take place in Hangzhou, China, from Dec 11 to 15. — Bernama