KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia to have an unprecedented three mixed doubles pairs in the world's 10 at the same time?
This heady scenario is possible with the rise of Hoo Pang Ron-Cheng Su Yin.
Currently Malaysia already has Chen Tang Jie-Toh Ee Wei at world No. 6 and Goh Soon Huat-Shevon Lai at world No 7.
Pang Ron-Su Yin are currently world No. 21, but they have the potential to break into the world's top 10 next year.
They underlined their emergence with a remarkable runners-up finish in the China Masters last month.
Buoyed by their results this season, Pang Ron said a top world 10 target is attainable, but they need to keep improving.
Pang Ron-Su Yin have performed at a consistent level in the last four months where they reached at least the quarter-finals on the World Tour except for the Denmark Open in October where they lost in the second round.
"I believe making the (world) top 10 is possible. Reaching that level will take time and we will work hard to achieve that target. It's going to be a long process but we have to keep improving," said Pang Ron.
China currently occupies the world's top three mixed doubles positions through Feng Yan Zhe-Huang Dong Ping, Jiang Zhen Bang-Wei Ya Xin and Zheng Si Wei-Huang Ya Qiong.
However, Si Wei retired after the recent World Tour Finals in Hangzhou while three other pairs - Dechapol Puavaranukroh-Sapsiree Taeratanachai of Thailand (No. 8), Dejan Ferdinansyah-Gloria Emanuelle Widjaja of Indonesia (No. 9) and Yuta Watanabe-Arisa Igarashi of Japan (No. 10) will not feature in the world's top 10 anymore.
Dechapol and Sapsiree have split, and currently partner Supissara Paewsampran and Supak Jomkoh respectively while Higarashi has turned to women's doubles after Watanabe's retirement.
Dejan, an independent player, has rejoined the Indonesia BA where he will partner Siti Fadia Ramadhanti after the Malaysia Open next month.
Pang Ron said the aforementioned changes have also opened the door for he and Su Yin to move up the world rankings.
"Some top pairs have retired or are not playing as a pair anymore. There could be changes in the rankings, and it may give us an advantage at the initial stages," added Pang Ron.
"However, it's not going to be entirely easy as the experienced players can come back stronger with new partners. So we need to be prepared well for these new combinations."
Two China pairs — world No. 12 Cheng Xing-Zhang Chi and world No. 13 Guo Xin Wa-Chen Fang Hui — are also eyeing a top 10 spot, and this will make Pang Ron-Su Yin work harder.
Pang Ron-Su Yin aim to start their quest with a strong performance in the Super 1000 Malaysia Open where they will be playing for the first time as a pair.