2025-08-05,KUALA LUMPUR

Men's doubles Man Wei Chong-Tee Kai Wun are no longer flying under the radar, but the rising Malaysian pair still have two towering obstacles standing in their way at the upcoming World Championships in Paris.

The world No. 7 have enjoyed a remarkable season, winning the Indonesia and Malaysia Masters and breaking into the world's top 10.

Yet they remain winless against the two dominant forces in men's doubles — South Korea's world No. 1 Kim Won Ho-Seo Seung Jae and China's world No. 5 Liang Wei Keng-Wang Chang.

Wei Chong-Kai Wun have lost both of their matches against the Korean pair, including a three-game defeat in the Japan Open quarter-finals last month.

Their struggles against the Chinese are even more pronounced, having fallen short in all five meetings so far. Their most recent clash came at last year's Arctic Open quarter-finals, where they pushed Wei Keng-Wang Chang to three games before bowing out.

"The Chinese pair... we've never beaten them. But that doesn't mean we're afraid or don't like facing them," said Kai Wun.

"We've lost to Won Ho-Seung Jae twice already too," he added.

"Every time we play them, we give our all. Maybe luck just hasn't been on our side."

Now ranked inside the world top eight, the Malaysians are bracing for the possibility of facing one of these top seeds as early as the quarter-finals in Paris.

"Anyone in the top 10 can win. So we can't say too much. But of course, our target is to try and bring back a medal from the World Championships," said Kai Wun.

The pair resumed training on Monday following a week-long recovery after competing in the China and Japan Opens where they reached back-to-back quarter-finals.

Despite their growing reputation, Wei Chong-Kai Wun are well aware that their physical conditioning and consistency need to improve if they are to challenge the sport's elite.

"There's no such thing as being satisfied. We're still chasing bigger goals. Besides the World Championships, we also want to qualify for the World Tour Finals," said Kai Wun.