KUALA LUMPUR: Men's pair Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik believe they have a great opportunity to win the World Tour Finals (WTF) title in the absence of their three strongest rivals in Hangzhou on Dec 11-15.
As the race for the WTF came to a close last week, China's world No. 1 Liang Wei Keng-Wang Chang, South Korea's world No. 2 Kang Min Hyuk-Seo Seung Jae and former world No. 1 Satwiksairaj Rankireddy-Chirag Shetty of India failed to qualify for the season-ending showpiece.
Only the top seven pairs in the World Tour rankings and the Paris Olympics champions qualify for the WTF.
World No. 5 Aaron-Wooi Yik, who will be making their fifth appearance at the WTF, did not reach the semi-finals in four previous attempts.
But they will be looking forward to making a strong impact this time.
Aaron, speaking during the Affin Group's sponsorship ceremony with BAM today, said they will not take anyone for granted.
He said Indonesia's world No. 4 Fajara Alfian-Rian Ardianto and China's world No. 6 He Ji Ting-Ren Xiang Yu will still pose a threat to them.
"Our three main rivals are not there, and I believe there is a chance to win this time," said Aaron.
"Having said that, the other pairs will also use the absence of Wei Keng-Wang Chang, Min Hyuk-Seung Jae and Satwik-Chirag to push for the title.
"Other pairs like Fajar-Rian and Ji Ting-Xiang Yu are also playing well and we have to be on guard to take our chances.
Besides Aaron-Wooi Yik, women's pair Pearly Tan-Thinaah and mixed doubles Chen Tang Jie-Toh Ee Wei also received a token of appreciation from Affin for their achievements at the Paris Olympics.
BAM was the biggest winner as Affin, which came on board as a sponsor in December, 2022, for the national body's junior programme, extended its support for another three years.
Affin president and group chief executive officer Datuk Wan Razyl Abdullah said they will now spread their wings to offer support to the entire national team.
"We have signed a three-year contract which is worth in the multi millions in our journey to take the badminton powerhouse to greater heights," said Razly.
"Initially we were supporting the juniors but we will expand it to the entire national team.
"There will be no individual sponsorship within our pledge and we will leave it to BAM to use the funds to elevate the performance of our players."
Aaron-Wooi Yik and the other pairs entertained the fans in a meet-and-greet session and took part in some fun badminton games after the ceremony.