BANGKOK: World champions Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik and Pearly Tan-M.Thinaah have learned the hard way it is never easy to stay on top.
Both the men's and women's doubles pairs failed to register a single win at the season-ending World Tour Finals in Bangkok, getting knocked out in the group stages.
With so much hype around them in recent months, can they shut out the noise and focus on badminton as they gear up for a challenging season ahead?
Speaking to the Badminton World Federation (BWF) following their disappointing outing in Thailand, Pearly-Thinaah admitted it is back to the drawing board for them.
The world No 9 said they will need to add more firepower and variety to their game if they are to match the best.
"This (World Tour Finals) has got to be our most disappointing tournament this season," said Thinaah, who together with Pearly, stunned everyone when they clinched the Super 750 French Open title in October.
Pearly admitted that she and Thinaah were far from their best in Bangkok, and will need to tighten up their combination in the coming weeks.
Next up is the Super 1000 Malaysia Open on Jan 10-15 at the Axiata Arena in Bukit Jalil, and Pearly-Thinaah don't want to disappoint the home fans.
"We have to forget this and move on. We're excited over the Malaysia Open. We want to do well on home soil. Our fans have been amazing, and we don't want to disappoint them." Thinaah said.