World Tour Finals: Sidek brothers dubbed the 'undisputed legends of men's doubles'

Malaysia will have two men’s doubles representatives at the upcoming World Tour Finals (WTF) which begins on Wednesday, and will aim to take inspiration from the Sidek brothers who were hugely successful.

Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik and Goh Sze Fei-Nur Izzuddin are the two pairs competing in Hangzhou, China and they will be out to end an eight-year drought for a men's doubles title since Goh V Shem-Tan Wee Kiong last won it in 2016.

But long before that success, Razif Sidek-Jalani Sidek were the kingpins of this season-finale championship back when it was known as the World Grand Prix Finals (WGPF).

In a recent flashback video posted by the Badminton World Federation, Razif-Jalani were described as the “undisputed legends of men’s doubles season-enders”.

In four finals which they contested, the pair won all four titles from 1986-1991.

That 100% record also makes them one of the most formidable pairs to ever grace this prestigious event.

Razif-Jalani clinched their first WGPF title when they defeated Indonesian pair Eddy Hartono-Hadibowo Susanto 10-15, 15-5, 18-13 at the iconic Stadium Negara in Kuala Lumpur.

The brothers secured their second silverware two years later when they once again came from a game down to beat Eddy-Rudy Gunawan 10-15, 15-6, 15-8 in Hong Kong.

The following year, Razif-Jalani faced Chinese pair Li Yongbo-Tian Bingyi and won in straight games 15-9, 15-5.

They completed their domination of this tournament in 1991 after another straight game success, this time beating another Chinese pair Huang Zhanzhong-Zheng Yumin 15-10, 12-15, 18-15 on home turf in Kuala Lumpur.

In this year’s WTF, Chia-Soh are in Group B alongside He Ji Ting-Ren Xiang Yu (China), Fajar Alfian-Rian Ardianto (Indonesia) and Sabar Karyaman-Moh Reza Pahlevi (Indonesia).

Goh-Izzuddin are in Group A with Kim Astrup-Anders Skaarup Rasmussen (Denmark), Lee Yang-Wang Chi-lin (Chinese Taipei) and Lee Jhe-huei-Yang Po-hsuan (Chinese Taipei).