THE country’s top ranked men’s doubles pair Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik moved up to second place in the latest Badminton World Federation (BWF) rankings today after accumulating 84,518 points from participating in 16 championships. 

Indonesian pair Fajar Alfian-Muhamad Rian Ardianto remained at the top with 92,855 points. 

In contrast to Aaron-Soh’s progress, another Malaysian pair Ong Yew Sin-Teo Ee Yi slipped a spot down to ninth after coming into the tournament in the eighth spot. 

Another men’s doubles pair Goh Sze Fei-Nur Izzuddin Rumsani dropped from the top 10, slipping into the 11th spot following less impressive performances at the Malaysia Open and India Open. 

The country’s top ranked women’s doubles pair Pearly Tan-M. Thinaah also made progress in the BWF world rankings by climbing two spots to sixth place, after amassing 69,955 points from 16 championships. 

Meanwhile, the country’s number one men’s singles player Lee Zii Jia suffered a minor setback, slipping two spots to fourth place after suffering early exits in recent tournaments and only accumulating 76,588 points. 

The 25-year-old Zii Jia lost in the first round of the Malaysia Open to Japan’s Kodai Naraoka and was again bundled out early in the India Open by China’s Li Shi Feng in the second round. 

Zii Jia’s loss was Indonesian Anthony Sinisuka Ginting’s gain as the Indonesian moved into the second spot while his compatriot Jonatan Christie took the third. 

Viktor Axelsen from Denmark retained his world number one spot. – Bernama, January 24, 2023.