Kuala Lumpur: Malaysia’s World No. 11 Tan Kian Meng/Lai Pei Jing and World No. 12 Goh Soon Huat/Shevon Jemie Lai were looking to qualify for the 2020 BWF World Tour Finals that will be held in Bangkok from Jan 27 to Jan 31, 2021.
Before that, Tan/Lai would need to produce positive results in the 2 Super 1000 tournaments, including YONEX Thailand Open (Jan 12 to Jan 17, 2021) and TOYOTA Thailand Open (Jan 19 to Jan 24, 2021) that will take place in Bangkok.
“We have not played against other players for a long time, but I am confident we could do well based on our performance in training,” said Tan to Malaysian media.
“Now we want to focus on the first two tournaments in Bangkok,” added Tan.
“Coach Paulus has been helping us improving many aspects of our games,” continued Tan.
Only the top eight pairs in the BWF World Tour Finals rankings are eligible to compete in the prestigious tournament. Right now, Tan/Lai and Goh/Lai were ranked No. 8 and No. 10 respectively in that chart.
According to their coach, Paulus Firman, both pairs would need to at least advance to the semi-finals at those two Asia leg tournaments to qualify for the BWF World Tour Finals.
“However, it is not an easy task for Kian Meng/Pei Jing and Soon Huat/Shevon. Because they are not in the top eight of the BWF world rankings, they will face tricky draws at both Thailand Opens,” said Firman to Malaysian media.
“It’s almost certain that they will meet the world’s top eight pairs in the first or second round of both Thailand Opens. Therefore, they would need to make the best possible preparations so that they can produce the best results in Bangkok,” added Firman.
