KUALA LUMPUR: National coach Rosman Razak remains optimistic that women's doubles pair Pearly Tan-M. Thinaah can survive the 'Group of Death' and reach the semi-finals at the World Tour Finals (WTF) in Hangzhou.
World No. 6 Pearly-Thinaah are in for a torrid time in Group A, facing world No. 1 Liu Sheng Shu-Tan Ning of China, Japan's No. 4 Nami Matsuyama-Chiharu Shida and India's No. 13 Treesa Jolly-Gayathri Gopichand.
The Malaysians, who are the fourth seeds, begin their campaign on Wednesday against their nemesis Matsuyama-Shida — a match that could determine their fate in the tournament.
The unseeded Japanese duo hold a dominant 10-1 head-to-head record over Pearly-Thinaah, having won the last eight encounters.
Despite the uphill task, Rosman is confident his charges can finish in the top two and advance to the semi-finals.
"You can't avoid any pair in a tournament featuring the world's best," said Rosman.
"It is definitely not easy, but the target remains the semi-finals.
"Pearly-Thinaah are approaching this challenge positively and are ready to fight all the way in every match."
Victory over Matsuyama-Shida would virtually secure a semi-final spot, as Pearly-Thinaah are expected to beat Treesa-Gayathri in their second match on Thursday.
The Malaysians will conclude their group fixtures on Friday against Liu Sheng Shu-Tan Ning.
In Group B, second seeds Rin Iwanaga-Kie Nakanishi (world No. 5) will face a tough line-up, including South Korea's world No. 2 Baek Ha Na-Lee So Hee, China's Olympic champions Chen Qing Chen-Jia Yi Fan (No. 3) and Indonesia's Febriana Dwipuji Kusuma-Amallia Cahaya Pratiwi (No. 10).
Qing Chen-Yi Fan are eyeing a third consecutive WTF title, having won in 2022 and 2023.
The lucrative WTF, offering a total prize purse of US$2.5 million (RM11.04 million), will award US$210,000 (RM928,000) to the winning doubles pair.