KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian shuttlers will be making a "strong presence" at the World Tour Finals (WTF) in Hangzhou on Dec 11-15 in terms of seeding.
Of the country's six Malaysian representatives at the lucrative season-ending event which offers US$2.5 million (RM11.20 million) in prize money, three pairs will be seeded.
Mixed doubles Goh Soon Huat-Shevon Lai (world No. 10) and Chen Tang Jie-Toh Ee Wei (world No. 8) will be seeded second and third respectively while men's pair Goh Sze Fei-Nur Izzuddin Rumsani (world No. 7) will be seeded fourth.
The other Malaysian challengers — men's singles Lee Zii Jia (world No. 8), men's pair Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik (world No. 5) and women's pair Pearly Tan-M. Thinaah (world No. 6) — won't get special status in the draw.
Independent pair Sze Fei-Izzuddin and BAM's Tang Jie-Ee Wei will be making their WTF debuts.
The final list of qualifiers were based on the World Tour rankings on Tuesday. Pearly-Thinaah missed out on the top four seedings after finishing fifth.
Former national coach Rashid Sidek said the seeding of three Malaysian pairs is an indication of progress. He also praised the independent shuttlers who won the bulk of the World Tour titles this year.
"This is the best efforts from Malaysians on the World Tour, and their seedings are proof of their improvement. The reward now is the chance to play at the WTF," said Rashid.
"People often say that independent players will struggle in their careers but they have proven their worth.
"It gives hope to the other independent shuttlers and others that it is possible to produce results if they remain disciplined and work hard.
"The better they play, they will get the chance to earn more prize money and also attract sponsors to grow their careers.
"The seedings may not give a big advantage as a player or a pair must do well in the three group matches to advance to the last four.
"But the seedings will give them a mental boost and the satisfaction that they have done extremely well to qualify for the WTF, and this positive mindset can help them to play better."
The men's singles winner will get US$200,000 (RM900,000) while the doubles champions will take home US$210,000. Even a singles shuttler who finishes last in the group will earn US$15,000 while a doubles pair in the same position will earn US$17,500.