Malaysia reach two milestones in world badminton rankings

New Straits Times

20 hours ago

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia have achieved two historic breakthroughs in the latest BWF rankings, with Pearly Tan–M. Thinaah becoming the nation's first women's pair in 16 years to crack the world's top three, and Goh Sze Fei–Nur Izzuddin Rumsani and Aaron Chia–Soh Wooi Yik creating a maiden 1–2 in men's doubles.
Pearly–Thinaah's one-rung climb to a career-high No. 3 came on the back of their impressive runners-up finish at the Indonesia Open last Sunday, where they pushed China's world No. 1 Liu Sheng Shu–Tan Ning to the limit in an epic final before going down 23-25, 21-12, 21-19.
The last time a Malaysian women's pair ranked this high was in 2009, when Chin Eei Hui–Wong Pei Tty were world No. 1.
It is the first time in history that Malaysia have had two men's pairs occupy the top two spots simultaneously —Sze Fei–Izzuddin held firm at No. 1, while Olympic bronze medallists Aaron–Wooi Yik returned to their career-best No. 2, despite a first-round exit in Jakarta.
Aaron–Wooi Yik took advantage of Denmark's Kim Astrup–Anders Skaarup Rasmussen's failure to defend their semi-final points from last year, allowing the Malaysians to leapfrog them in the world rankings.
While Pearly–Thinaah's rise is a proud milestone, the world No. 1 spot remains some distance away.
Sheng Shu-Tan Ning hold a commanding lead at the summit of nearly 20,000 points.
Still, the Malaysian duo have a realistic shot at overtaking current No. 2 Chiharu Shida–Nami Matsuyama of Japan when the World Tour resumes at next month's Japan Open.
Pearly–Thinaah came agonisingly close to overtaking Shida–Matsuyam this week but fell just short of the points needed following their second-place finish in Jakarta.
In addition to the top two pairs, Malaysia also have depth in men's doubles, with Man Wei Chong–Tee Kai Wun holding their ground at No. 7, while Wan Arif Junaidi–Yap Roy King (No. 24), Nur Mohd Azriyn Ayub–Tan Wee Kiong (No. 25), and Ong Yew Sin–Teo Ee Yi (No. 31) all remain within the top 32.
In mixed doubles, Chen Tang Jie–Toh Ee Wei stayed at No. 4 after their semi-final showing in Jakarta and are inching closer to the No. 3 spot held by Hong Kong's Tang Chun Man–Tse Ying Suet, while veterans Goh Soon Huat–Shevon Lai retained their position at No. 5.
Hoo Pang Ron–Cheng Su Yin are the other Malaysian pair inside the top 32. They are currently ranked No. 13.
In men's singles, Lee Zii Jia, who is recovering from injury, fell six spots to No. 21 and is set for a further drop in next week's update as his 2024 Australian Open points—worth 9,200 from a Super 500 title— will come off the 52-week rolling cycle.
However, the 27-year-old's tournament eligibility remains unaffected as he currently holds a protected ranking of No. 9.
This allows him direct entry into any World Tour event for four months, beginning with the Japan Open next month, which will mark his comeback since the All England in March.
Meanwhile, Leong Jun Hao dropped two spots to No. 27 after failing to match his quarter-final run at the Indonesia Open last year.
In women's singles, Malaysia continue to have no representative inside the top 32. Goh Jin Wei remains the nation's highest-ranked player at world No. 47.