No Lee Chong Wei in Dubai Superseries Finals

KUALA LUMPUR: Shuttler Lee Chong Wei's return to form in the Superseries Tour has come a tad too late.

The points he has garnered so far are not enough to take him to the US$1mil (RM4.2mil) BWF World Superseries Finals in Dubai from Dec 9-13.

And thus Malaysia will not have any representatives in the grand finale for the second straight year – and it again underlines the lack of depth and over-dependence on Chong Wei for honours on the international stage.

Chong Wei moved up 11 rungs to 22nd spot in the Superseries standings after winning the China Open on Sunday.

Even if he wins the ongoing Hong Kong Open, which is the last leg of the Tour, he will still not make the top eight.

Only the top eight shuttlers after the 12 legs of the Tour get to compete in the finale. Each country can have a maximum of two players only.

Malaysians also failed to make the top 10 in the other events.

The highest ranked women's singles shuttler is Tee Jing Yi at No. 34. The best men doubles’ pair are Goh V Shem-Tan Wee Kiong at No. 14, women’s doubles Woon Khe Wei-Vivian Hoo at No. 19 and mixed doubles Chan Peng Soon-Goh Liu Ying at No. 31.

Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) secretary Ng Chin Chai said that it was unfortunate that Chong Wei missed the boat again.

Last year, he qualified but did not play in the Superseries Finals because he was serving an eight-month doping ban.

“If only he had better results at the Japan Open and Korean Open ...,” said Chin Chai.

Chong Wei suffered a shock first-round defeat in the qualifying tournament of the Korean Open in September and lost in the second round at the preceding Japan Open.

“Still, it’s a great achievement for Chong Wei to get himself back in the top 10 of the world standings and top 25 in the Superseries despite missing most of the action for eight months,” said Chin Chai.

On Thursday, Chong Wei moved up three spots to the No. 6 in the world.