KUALA LUMPUR: Normally, by their high standards, former world champions and Olympic bronze medallists Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik should have no problem qualifying for next month's World Tour Finals (WTF) in Hangzhou, China.
But following a worrisome injury to Wooi Yik, it made things difficult for them. So, when the duo finally booked their WTF ticket, national men's doubles coach Tan Bin Shen made it a point to praise Aaron-Wooi Yik for qualifying.
The world No. 5 got their WTF spot after reaching the China Masters quarter-finals last week. They were also "helped" by their rivals who lost early in the tournament.
"They worked really hard to qualify for the World Tour Finals. As the competition in Hangzhou will be strong, it's good for them to continue to get games against the top pairs to improve.
"A top pair like Aaron-Wooi Yik only need to work on minor details. You can't work on this just in training, you need competitive matches to see the improvement," said Bin Shen today.
Earlier, there were concerns that Malaysia's top pair would miss the season-ending WTF after Wooi Yik suffered a fractured toe in their bronze medal-run at the Paris Olympics in August. They had to skip several tournaments, missing out on WTF qualifying points, and only made their return last month at the Denmark Open.
In a scramble to qualify for the WTF, they played non-stop, even competing in Super 300 tournaments like the Korea Masters.