KUALA LUMPUR: The Malaysia Masters, scheduled on Jan 15-20, could mark the coming of age for several young national shuttlers.
This is because they will have to pit themselves against some of the world's best, who have already confirmed their participation for the BWF World Tour Super 500 event, as announced by the BA of Malaysia (BAM) on Friday.
For national men's doubles duo, Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik, 2019 is seen as a very important year as the pair gear up to fight for a spot in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
Aaron said: "Things have changed so much for us this year, and we look forward to play in the Malaysia Masters.
"Earlier this year, we didn't do well because Wooi Yik and I were just starting out and we were only trying to give our best.
“Next year is different, we have targets and goals to achieve and that is to qualify for the 2020 Olympics.
"I understand that there are big names like Indonesia's Marcus Fernaldi Gideon-Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo, who have confirmed their participation, but we are not there to make up the numbers.
"We must try to reach the semi-finals at least in every tournament we play in, so that we will have a good start when the Olympic qualifying period begins in May."
Apart from Aaron-Wooi Yik, who surprised everyone by reaching the quarter-finals of the World Championships in Nanjing, China this year, another young shuttler raring to go is men's singles Lee Zii Jia.
Despite having to battle a nagging back injury, the 20-year-old ended this season on a high, when he clinched the Taiwan Open title in October and then reached his second consecutive final at the Korea Masters last week.
"I know there are big names like World No 1 Kento Momota and Viktor Axelsen in the fray, but there is no pressure on me.
"I know what I must do and I want to give my best. The Malaysia Masters is the perfect platform for us to gauge our current standard," said Zii Jia.
In the absence of former World No 1 Lee Chong Wei, who is still resting after undergoing treatment for nose cancer, Malaysia will be banking on the younger shuttlers to step up to the plate to make an impression.
Another young shuttler who will be hoping to begin the year with a bang is 18-year-old Goh Jin Wei, who bagged her second World Junior Championships title last month in Markham, Canada.
The women's singles shuttler has been on song when she became the first Malaysian athlete to win the Youth Olympic Games (YOG) in Buenos Aires, Argentina in October.