Badminton Indonesia (PBSI) tweeted out its lists of entries for the 2020 Perodua Malaysia Masters on their twitter account on Wednesday last week. What was surprising is the new pairing of Tontowi Ahmad/Apriyani Rahayu.
What needs to be understood is that the Super 500 tournament will feature 28 pairs in the main draw and 8 pairs in the qualifying round.
As a new combination, Ahmad/Rahayu has no world ranking points. Out of 62 mixed doubles pairs registered, Ahmad/Rahayu are at No. 45 position in the seeding report. They are number 9 on the reserve list.
It is a mountain to climb for them to even play in the qualifying round.
There is only one way for Ahmad/Rahayu to be able to play at the 2020 Perodua Malaysia Masters. In order to be promoted to the qualifying round, it requires 9 higher seeds to withdraw.
However, hoping for that seems almost impossible since the Olympic qualification period is still ongoing.
Perodua Malaysia Masters starts on 7 January, 2019. The debut of Tontowi Ahmad and Apriyani Tahayu might have to wait.