Mixed doubles duo Terry Hee and Jessica Tan fell short in the semi-finals of the Malaysia Open. - PHOTO: LIANHE ZAOBAO via The Straits Times/ANN
SINGAPORE (The Straits Times/ANN): There were sighs from mixed doubles pair Jessica Tan and Terry Hee during the post-match interview, after their fairy-tale start to 2024 ended in the semi-finals of badminton’s Malaysia Open on Saturday (Jan 13).
South Korea’s seventh-ranked Kim Won-ho and Jeong Na-eun proved too strong for them, winning 21-16, 21-16 at the Axiata Arena.
The world No. 22 Singaporeans had eliminated higher-ranked opponents en-route to the semi-finals.
They beat Chinese Taipei’s 12th-ranked Ye Hong-wei and Lee Chia-hsin in the first round, Thailand’s 20th-ranked Supak Jomkoh and Supissara Paewsampran in the round of 16 and world No. 6 Thais Dechapol Puavaranukroh and Sapsiree Taerattanachai in the quarter-finals.
Kim and Jeong were no slouches themselves, having beaten China’s top-ranked Zheng Siwei and Huang Yaqiong for their last-four spot.
They next face world No. 2s Yuta Watanabe and Arisa Higashino in the final, after the Japanese beat China’s fifth-ranked Jiang Zhenbang and Wei Yaxin 21-15, 12-21, 21-15 in the other last-four clash.
Despite their loss, married couple Hee and Tan will take home US$18,200 (S$24,255) and 9,000 BWF points in their bid to qualify for the Paris Olympics.
Tan, 30, hopes that they can build on their performance but feels that although they had a game plan, “a lack of discipline” was their undoing on Jan 13.
She added: “We hope to put our results here at the Malaysia Open behind us. Next week is a new week and a new tournament and we don’t want to let our results define us.
“We just hope to take whatever positives that we have gained... and continue to improve and work on that.”
Hee, 28, echoed her sentiments, adding: “Of course, we hope to continue this momentum, but we will take one match at a time and keep working hard.
“We are pleased with our performance at this tournament. But, for this match, maybe we were a little too nervous and did not perform at our best.”
The duos have only faced each other once before, at the 2022 Korea Open where the home pair prevailed 19-21, 21-18, 21-12.
Hee and Tan had started strongly in their maiden Super 1000 semi-final, taking a 5-2 lead, but several mistakes allowed their opponents to regroup and pull away at 16-11.
They won five of the next six points to reduce the deficit to 17-16 but could not complete the fightback as the Koreans claimed the last four points to take the first game.
The Singaporeans were on the back foot from the outset in the second game, trailing 4-0 inside two minutes. But, aided by Hee’s aggressive and pinpoint smashes, they drew level and even led 10-9.
The Koreans again raised their game and pulled clear at 19-13 before sealing the victory.
Hee said: “When there are opportunities to smash and score points, of course I will try to take them, but these chances rarely came today. That’s the difference between us and these top players, unforced errors that cost us the game.”
National doubles head coach Paulus Firman praised their performances the past week but said it was important to recover quickly and focus on their next tournament.
Hee and Tan have three days to get ready for the Super 750 India Open, which starts on Jan 16 in New Delhi.
The Indonesian said: “Their achievements in this tournament were good.
“Today their performances were slightly lower, maybe anticlimactic because their focus was tiring and declining.”
In the women’s singles semi-finals, top-ranked South Korean An Se-young beat Chinese Zhang Yiman 21-17, 21-11 and will face former world No. 1 Tai Tzu-ying.
The Taiwanese booked her place after beating China’s Olympic champion Chen Yufei 17-21, 21-15, 21-18.
The men’s singles final will be between Denmark’s Anders Antonsen and China’s Shi Yuqi.
Antonsen defeated Taiwanese Lin Chun-yi 21-16, 21-7 while Shi edged out world No. 1 Viktor Axelsen 21-12, 19-21, 21-17.- The Straits Times/ANN
