KUALA LUMPUR: Men's doubles pair Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik squandered a great opportunity to ascend to the world No. 1 ranking for the first time in their career, following an early exit at the Kumamoto Masters Japan on Thursday.
Aaron-Wooi Yik, who ended their long-awaited wait for a World Tour maiden victory at the Denmark Open last month, were brought back down to Earth after losing 21-18, 21-14 to Japan's Akira Koga-Taichi Saito.
With China's top-ranked Liang Wei Keng-Wang Chang opting to withdraw from this week's Super 500 event, the door was open for world No. 2 Aaron-Wooi Yik to leap past them.
It may not be an easy task, though, as Aaron-Wooi Yik would still need to win the title to accomplish that.
Still, Aaron-Wooi Yik, well-rested and buoyed by their recent success, looked more than capable of winning this week, considering they're the highest-ranked pair in the field.
The in-form world No. 3 Denmark's Kim Astrup-Ander Skaarup Rasmussen, who won the Arctic Open and French Open, as well as world No. 4 Fajar Alfian-Muhammad Rian Ardianto of Indonesia, are among the notable absentees.
"It's a shame that they could not seize the opportunity," admitted national coaching director Rexy Mainaky.
"But there are still many chances for them to do so. Let's hope they bounce back with a better showing at the China Masters next week."
There's a clear sense of urgency for Aaron-Wooi Yik to rectify their subpar record against Japanese rivals, who train under Malaysia's former international Tan Kim Her.
The defeat to world No. 16 Koga-Saito marks the second in three meetings for Aaron-Wooi Yik this year.
Back in July, they suffered losses to world No. 7 Takuro Hoki-Yugo Kobayashi during the Japan Open quarter-finals and world No. 27 Keiichiro Matsui-Yoshinori Takeuchi in the last 16 of the Korea Open.
Commenting on the loss to Koga-Saito, Rexy said: "Aaron-Wooi Yik started rather too negatively, allowing their opponents to take control and dominate the front court.
"The Japanese went all out and played with nothing to lose."