Momota, Chen Yufei lead BWF World Tour Finalists in Guangzhou

China's Shi Yuqi, who defeated Momota in Guangzhou a year ago, failed to qualify for this year's finals.

Other defending champions including Pusarla V. Sindhu in women's singles, Li Junhui/Liu Yuchen of China in men's doubles and their teammates Wang Yilyu/Huang Dongping in mixed doubles are back at another shot at the Finals.

Sindhu was assured of her spot despite being in 15th place as one spot in each category is reserved for the current world champions. But she will expect a fierce challenge from other shuttlers, led by China's Chen Yuwei who has an astonishing year of performance so far.

Due to the rule that a maximum of two players/pairs from each member association can qualify, last year's women's doubles champions and Rio 2016 gold medalists, Misaki Matsutomo/Ayaka Takahashi have missed out as they are the third-ranked Japanese pair in the top eight.

Their compatriots Yuki Fukushima/Sayaka Hirota topped the rankings, followed by world champions Mayu Matsumoto/Wakana Nagahara. But China's Chen Qingchen and Jia Yifan will seek to defend their newly gained world No 1 ranking at home soil.