Veterans and youngsters miss boat to prestigious Paris tourney
PETALING JAYA: Veteran shuttlers Ong Yew Sin-Teo Ee Yi and youngsters Yap Roy King-Wan Arif Wan Junaidi have missed the cut for the World Championships from Aug 25-31 in Paris.
In the first phase of qualifiers' list released by the Badminton World Federation based on the world rankings as of April 29, independent pair Goh Sze Fei-Nur Izzuddin Rumsani (No. 2), former world champions Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik (No. 4) and Man Wei Chong-Tee Kai Wun (No. 7) have made it.
Yew Sin-Ee Yi, who have played in all five previous editions since making their debuts in 2018, have failed to qualify after dropping to No. 32 in the rankings last month.
The tournament was not held in 2020 and 2024 due to the Covid-19 pandemic and the Paris Olympics respectively.
Yew Sin, 30 and Ee Yi, 32 captured bronze in the 2021 edition in Huelva, Spain, but have been troubled by form and fitness issues over the past year.
Meanwhile, world No. 21 Roy King-Arif will need to wait to make their debuts in the world meet as a country is allowed a maximum of only four pairs if all are ranked in the world's top eight.
In the men's singles, independent player Lee Zii Jia (No. 9), who is currently recovering from an ankle injury, has made the cut and will be joined by Leong Jun Hao (No. 26).
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