Badminton: Peng-Soon-Liu Ying reunion may not materialise at Malaysia Open

KUALA LUMPUR: The much-anticipated reunion of Rio Olympics silver medallists Chan Peng Soon and Goh Liu Ying at the Malaysia Open from Jan 10-15 may not materialise.

The country's most illustrious mixed doubles pair face an anxious wait over the next few weeks to see if they make the cut for the now-upgraded Super 1000 event — the World Tour season-opener.

Peng Soon-Liu Ying, who parted ways after the World Tour Finals in December last year, dropped three rungs to No 22 in the latest world rankings.

Peng Soon-Liu Ying must remain in the world's top 32 to qualify outright for the Malaysia Open.

The tournament entries will be based on the world ranking lists on Nov 29.

Peng Soon-Liu Ying will likely drop further in the coming weeks as their historical ranking points will be deducted due to the ongoing transition process of the world rankings, which got underway in August.

However, there is a glimmer of hope for the duo to make the 32-pair cut, as several pairs ranked above them are no longer active. Among them are compatriots Chen Tang Jie-Peck Yen Wei and Hoo Pang Ron-Cheah Yee See.

Liu Ying, who hopes to retire at the Malaysia Open, admitted she has to be realistic about her chances.

"I am also not too sure how things will pan out. All I can do now is to put our names in and see how it goes," said Liu Ying.

"The ideal outcome is we make the cut and play one last tournament together. But if that is not possible, I will probably figure out another way, maybe call for a press conference?"

Meanwhile, Peng Soon revealed that he had no qualms about accepting Liu Ying's request to play in the Malaysia Open as a perfect farewell gift.

"Let's see if we can qualify for it. Obviously, it would be great for us to perform one last time, and there's no better place to do it than in front of a home crowd," said Peng Soon, who recently quit the national team to become a professional again.

"I have achieved a lot with Liu Ying. I want to give her a perfect send-off."

In their career, Peng Soon-Liu Ying came close to winning the Malaysia Open twice, finishing runners-up in 2013 and 2016.