KUALA LUMPUR: High-flying Pearly Tan-M. Thinaah may have celebrated their third World Tour title of the season with their Kumamoto Masters triumph.
But the latest BWF world rankings offered a stark reminder that they still have plenty of ground to make up before they can realistically challenge Chinese arch-rivals Liu Sheng Shu-Tan Ning for the world No. 1 spot.
Despite their win in Japan, Pearly-Thinaah gained virtually no ground in the race for the summit.
The gap between the two pairs remains a sizeable 17,000 points, according to Tuesday’s updated standings.
Sheng Shu-Tan Ning, who last featured at the Denmark Open last month, continue to hold a commanding lead at the top with 110,084 points — well clear of Pearly-Thinaah’s 92,816. This is despite the Chinese pair’s dip in form since winning the World Championships in Paris in August.
The BWF world rankings consider only a pair’s best 10 results over a rolling 52-week period.
In Sheng Shu-Tan Ning’s case, they are heavily boosted by their major victories — the World Championships, Asian Championships, and Super 1000 titles at the Indonesia Open and China Open.
This means Pearly-Thinaah’s consistency alone will not suffice.
To make meaningful gains, they must begin outperforming their nemeses in upcoming tournaments and, crucially, win more titles, not just make deep runs.
On a positive note, Pearly-Thinaah have strengthened their hold on world No. 2 for the 24th straight week — a position they have not relinquished since achieving their career high in early June.
There was no movement either for Goh Sze Fei-Nur Izzuddin Rumsani, who remain at world No. 4 despite reaching the semi-finals last week.
However, they are expected to drop significantly next month as they will be unable to defend their World Tour Finals runners-up points from Hangzhou.
All other top Malaysian pairs also retained their positions.
Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik, who skipped Kumamoto, stayed at world No. 2, while Man Wei Chong-Tee Kai Wun preserved their world No. 5 spot despite a first-round exit in Japan.
The men’s doubles remain Malaysia’s strongest department with six pairs inside the world’s top 32.
The others are Wan Arif Junaidi-Yap Roy King (world No. 18), Nur Azriyn Ayub-Tan Wee Kiong (No. 27) and Ong Yew Sin-Teo Ee Yi (No. 28).
Former world No. 18 and two-time Super 300 champions Choong Hon Jian-Haikal Nazri continue edging closer to a top-32 return.
Their quarter-final run last week lifted them three spots to No. 34.
In mixed doubles, world champions Chen Tang Jie-Toh Ee Wei sit at world No. 4, while Goh Soon Huat-Shevon Lai remain at No. 9.
Hoo Pang Ron-Cheng Su Yin stay at No. 21, and Jimmy Wong-Lai Pei Jing climbed another two spots to No. 27.
In women’s doubles, the second-best Malaysian pair Go Pei Kee-Teoh Mei Xing slipped one rung to No. 23.
Teenage duo Ong Xin Yee-Carmen Ting continue their steady rise, moving up one place to No. 33, leaving them just shy of the coveted top-32 bracket.
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