PETALING JAYA: In a twist of events, independent shuttlers Vivian Hoo-Lim Chiew Sien could be representing Malaysia in the World Tour Finals instead of Pearly Tan-M. Thinaah.
With the finale this season entering its final lap, world No. 32 Vivian-Chiew Sien have placed themselves within the qualifying zone at the fifth spot in the women’s doubles for the US$1.5mil (RM6.7mil) Finals set to be held in Guangzhou, China, from Dec 14-18.
Only the top eight after 26 tournaments get to compete in the Finals and with only a few more more top-tier tournaments – Denmark Open (Oct 18-23), France Open (Oct 25-30), China Open (Nov 29-Dec 4) and Fuzhou China Open (Dec 6-11), it’s likely that Vivian-Chiew Sien will get to make their maiden appearance in the world event.
Pearly-Thinaah are in 11th spot but an injury to Pearly during the Japan Open had complicated matters for the country’s top pair.
Seasoned campaigner Vivian is happy that they had hung in there.
Vivian-Chiew Sien did get off to a good start in the early part of this year and reached the semi-finals of the Swiss Open but over the past few months, they have done just enough to keep their hopes alive to qualify for the Finals.
“We hope to make it for our first Finals,” said Vivian.
“It means a lot for Chiew Sien and I. It has not been easy as independent players as we had to find our own sponsors for all the tournaments.
“We are quite lucky to be able to still play and do what we love most.
“By qualifying for the Finals, we will get to justify the support of our faithful sponsors. Chiew Sien and I will be out to make a strong finish,” added Vivian, who is preparing for the tournaments in Europe.
Vivian could also be joined by her younger brother Pang Ron in the mixed doubles with his partner Toh Ee Wei.
The duo have done well in their first year together to be lying at 12th position. If they can push themselves in the next few tournaments, they may be able to overtake one of their seniors in the top eight.
Currently, Goh Soon Huat-Shevon Lai Jemie and Tan Kian Meng-Lai Pei Jing are in good positions to qualify at fourth and sixth respectively. A country can have two pairs if both are ranked in the top four, which is not impossible to achieve.
In the men’s events, Lee Zii Jia and world champions Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik have to double up their efforts to sneak into the Finals.
Zii Jia is lying at seventh spot but he can’t afford to muff up and lose early in the upcoming tournaments if he harbours hopes of making the cut.
It looks more challenging for Aaron-Wooi Yik as they already have two pairs ahead of them – Ong Yew Sin-Teo Ee Yi (fifth) and Goh Sze Fei-Nur Izzuddin Rumsani (sixth).
WORLD TOUR FINALS RANKING
(Top eight only)
Men’s singles: 1. H. S. Prannoy (Ind), 2. Viktor Axelsen (Den), 3. Chou Tien-chen (Tpe), 4. Anthony Ginting (Ina), 5. Jonatan Christie (Ina), 6. Lu Guangzu (Chn), 7. Lee Zii Jia (Mas), 8. Zhao Junpeng (Chn).
Men’s doubles: 1. Fajar Alfian-Rian Ardianto (Ina), 2. Mohammad Ahsan-Hendra Setiawan (Ina), 3. Kim Astrup-Anders Skaarup Rasmussen (Den), 4. Shohibul Fikri-Bagas Maulana (Ina), 5. Ong Yew Sin-Teo Ee Yi (Mas). 6. Goh Sze Fei-Nur Izzuddin Rumsani (Mas), 7. Takuro Hoki-Yugo Kobayashi (Jpn), 8. Liu Yuchen-Ou Xuanyi (Chn). Selected: 9. Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik.
Women’s singles: 1. Chen Yufei (Chn), 2. P.V. Sindhu (Ind), 3. Tai Tzu-ying (Tpe), 4. An Se-young (Kor), 5. He Bingjiao (Chn), 6. Wang Zhiyi (Chn), 7. Ratchanok Intanon (Tha), 8. Busanam Ongbamrungphan (Tha).
Women’s doubles: 1. Jeong Na-eun-Kim Hye-jeong (Kor), 2. Zhang Shuxian-Zheng Yu (Chn), 3. Chen Qingchen-Jia Yifan (Chn), 4. Nami Matsuyama-Chiharu Shida (Jpn), 5. Vivian Hoo-Lim Chien Sien (Mas), 6. Jongkolphan Kititharakul-Rawinda Prajongjai (Tha), 7. Apriyani Rahayu-Siti Fadia Ramadhanti (Ina), 8. Benyapa Aimsaard-Nuntakarn Aimsaard (Tha). Selected: 11. Pearly Tan-M. Thinaah.
Mixed doubles: 1. Wang Yilyu-Huang Dongping (Chn), 2. Zheng Siwei-Huang Yaqiong (Chn), 3. Dechapol Puavaranukroh-Sapsiree Taerattanachai (Tha), 4. Goh Soon Huat-Shevon Lai Jemie (Mas), 5. Yuta Watanabe-Arisa Higashino (Jpn), 6. Tan Kian Meng-Lai Pei Jing (Mas), 7. Rinoy Rivaldy-Pitha Haningtyas (Ina), 8. Supak Jomkoh-Supissara Paewsampran (Tha). Selected: 12. Hoo Pang Ron-Toh Ee Wei.
