The men’s doubles action is set to be one of the highlights of the Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) Invitational Championships this week, with three pairs in the world top 15 set to slug it out for the Division 1 title.

Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik (9th), Goh V Shem-Tan Wee Kiong (14th) and Ong Yew Sin-Teo Ee Yi (15th) go head to head when the round-robin event kicks off on Wednesday.

The tournament could pan out to be a four-way battle should world number 28 Goh Sze Fei-Nur Izzuddin decide to step up and give their seniors a challenge.

No pair could be considered an outright favourite to win, especially when every shuttler have been lacking in competitive action having returned to full training only recently following the coronavirus pandemic.

All four pairs have their reasons to prove a point starting Wednesday.

Despite being the highest ranked pair in the country, Chia-Soh have not won an international title.



So far, they only have last year's SEA Games gold to show for, while two semi-final appearances at the Indonesia and Spain Masters earlier this year is an indication they still lack a cutting edge.

Goh-Tan have a bigger statement to make, having endured a frustrating year than most players.

The pair missed out on the All-England Championships after missing the registration deadline, and were later overlooked for the Asia Team Championships in February.

They have only played three events this year, and the only way to be considered for the Thomas Cup selection is to do well in this internal meet.

It is the opposite for Ong-Teo, who are eager to build on a promising start to this year.

After being dropped from the national setup last year, the independent pair went on to win the Thailand Masters by upsetting a few big names.



They were also chosen ahead of Goh-Tan at the Asia Team Championships, and will be hoping to get the nod at the Thomas Cup too.

For Sze Fei-Izzuddin, this is the ideal time to show new doubles coach Flandy Limpele they are no longer seen as a back-up duo.

All eyes are on on Flandy too, with the Indonesian chief expected to make key decisions in the coming weeks.