PETALING JAYA: World No. 5 men’s doubles pair Man Wei Chong-Tee Kai Wun (pic) cannot afford to breathe easy even though many believe they have avoided the group of death at the World Tour Finals, which begins on Wednesday in Hangzhou, China.
They have been drawn in Group A, which still poses a formidable challenge, with world No. 1 Kim Won-ho-Seo Seung-jae awaiting them alongside Indonesia’s Sabar Gutama-Moh Reza, who recently knocked them out in the semi finals of the Thailand SEA Games.
The group is completed by Taiwan’s Chiu Hsiang-chieh-Wang Chi-lin.
With a tough task ahead, Wei Chong-Kai Wun know they must make full use of a four-day break before making their debut at the World Tour Finals.
“This is our first appearance at the World Tour Finals, so we are really excited, but it has been a tough year as well.
“We still have a few days to prepare and we hope to produce our best showing there,” said Wei Chong.
Wei Chong-Kai Wun have yet to overcome Won-ho-Seung-jae, having lost all four of their previous encounters since their first meeting at the Orleans Masters in March.
Their record against Sabar-Reza is also unfavourable, with the recent loss in Bangkok being their fourth defeat in five meetings.
However, the Malaysians have not played Hsiang-chieh and Chi-lin before.
National teammates Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik have been placed in Group B and will come up against India’s Satwiksairaj Rankireddy-Chirag Shetty, China’s Liang Weikeng-Wang Chang and Indonesia’s Fajar Alfian-Shohibul Fikri.
Only the top two pairs from each group will advance to the semi finals.
Aaron-Wooi Yik will be hoping to finally break past the group stage after falling short in all four of their previous appearances at the tournament.
Both Malaysian pairs recently concluded their duties at the Thailand SEA Games, where they helped the men’s team claim the silver medal.
