KUALA LUMPUR: Tan Wee Kiong dreams of reliving his glory days with his current men's doubles partner, Nur Azriyn Ayub.
Wee Kiong's career highlight came when he won an Olympic silver medal with then-partner Goh V Shem at the 2016 Rio Games.
Now, the 35-year-old hopes to qualify for next year's World Championships in Paris with the 31-year-old Azriyn.
The pair has a solid chance after ending the season ranked world No. 32, which allows them to compete in Super 500 events on the World Tour next year.
These tournaments offer higher ranking points, improving their qualification prospects.
If Wee Kiong qualifies, it will mark his ninth appearance at the World Championships.
He played alongside V Shem in six editions (2015, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2021, and 2022) and with Hoon Thien How in two (2013 and 2014).
"Why not? If we qualify for the World Championships, it will be a huge bonus for us," said Wee Kiong.
"We've overcome injuries and navigated a rough road as an independent pair since January, but we've managed to achieve our goal of breaking into the top 32 in the world rankings.
"Now, we can focus on playing in the Super 500 tournaments and beyond."
However, qualifying for the World Championships will be no easy task.
A country can qualify a maximum of four pairs for the World Championships, provided all are ranked in the top eight.
Three pairs can qualify if they are ranked in the top 24.
World No. 3 Goh Sze Fei-Nur Izzuddin Rumsani and world No. 6 Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik are expected to secure their spots, leaving Wee Kiong-Azriyn to battle with Man Wei Chong-Tee Kai Wun (No. 14), Choong Hon Jian-Haikal Nazri (No. 21), Wan Arif Junaidi-Yap Roy King (No. 23) and Ong Yew Sin-Teo Ee Yi (No. 24) for the third slot.
If Wee Kiong-Azriyn can replicate the form that saw them reach the semi-finals of this year's Kumamoto Masters Super 500, they can turn their World Championships dream into a reality.