Badminton: Chen-Toh reap fruits of their labour as they become nation’s top mixed pair

PETALING JAYA: Chen Tang Jie-Toh Ee Wei’s relentless push for excellence in the last nine months and a brilliant debut at the World Championships has catapulted them to become Malaysia’s top mixed doubles pair yesterday.

Tang Jie-Ee Wei started the World Championships as the world No. 17 but a place in the last eight in Copenhagen saw them moving up by six spots to world No. 11.

The Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) pair’s rise also coincided with the drop of Goh Soon Huat-Shevon Lai Jemie, who slipped from No. 10 to No. 12.

Tang Jie-Ee Wei were first combined together by national doubles coaching director Rexy Mainaky in December where they instantly won the Bangladesh International Challenge in December.

The arrival of Nova Widianto as the national mixed doubles coach in January sped up the pair’s progress and they even exceeded the Indonesian’s prediction of seeing them in the top 50 within eight months.

They managed to break into the top 20 in June and have also won the Orleans and Taiwan Opens before reaching the quarter-finals of the World Championships last week.

“We were not thinking too much about the ranking and our journey has never been easy from the start until now,” said Ee Wei.

“We started quite late but we have always made it a point to fight all the way in every tournament we have played.

“I don’t have much experience on the big stage compared to most of the top pairs in the world who have partnered each other for a long time.

“We still have a long way to go and we will remain humble and keep working hard to become a better pair.”

Meanwhile, things are not looking good for independent pair Tan Kian Meng-Lai Pei Jing who have dropped from No. 21 to No. 23 and they are desperate to make an impression in the coming China (Sept 5-10) and Hong Kong Opens (Sept 12-17).

The China Open will be an interesting clash for Kian Meng-Pei Jing, who will meet fellow independent combination Soon Huat-Shevon in the first round.

Kian Meng-Pei Jing are also in danger of losing their spot in the Road-to-Gold programme, which is geared to help the athletes with the potential of qualifying for and winning medals at the 2024 Paris Olympics as only pairs in the top 16 are likely to be retained.

Tang Jie-Ee Wei and Soon Huat-Shevon are the other mixed pairs in the RTG programme.

In the men’s doubles, Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik dropped two rungs from No. 4 to No. 6, independent pair Ong Yew Sin-Teo Ee Yi’s spot at No. 8 remained unchanged while Man Wei Chong-Tee Kai Wun improved by two spots from No. 23 to No. 21.

Women’s doubles pair Pearly Tan-M. Thinaah, who reached the quarter-finals in Copenhagen, remained at No. 11.

In the men’s singles, Lee Zii Jia’s ranking dropped a rung to No. 14 while Ng Tze Yong maintained his position at No. 22.