PETALING JAYA: China's men's doubles shuttlers He Jiting-Ren Xiangyu's withdrawal from the World Tour Finals has complicated national No. 1 Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik's chances of making it into the semi-final.
Xiangyu has suffered an injury and he and Jiting have conceded a walkover to Indonesia's Fajar Alfian-Rian Ardianto in their last Group B match on Friday (Dec 13). Based on the Badminton World Federation (BWF) rule, all matches involving the Chinese pair is null and void.
That means, Aaron-Wooi Yik's win against them is not counted.
The Indonesians, who beat teammates Sabar Gutama-Moh Reza and lost in three games to Aaron-Wooi Yik in their earlier two matches, have now progressed to the last four.
Aaron-Wooi Yik have to beat world No. 11 Sabar-Moh on Friday (Dec 13) to reach the semi-finals.
A defeat in straight games will see the world No. 5 Malaysians miss out and the Indonesians progress to the semi-final instead. If they lose in rubber game, the Malaysian will still make it to the semis, having one game advantage.
