Pei Jing puts ugly umpiring episode behind her

Lai Pei Jing and mixed doubles partner Tan Aik Quan lost to China's Tao Jiaming-Tang Jinhua in the first round of the World Championships on Monday after a umpire error. - IZZRAFIQ ALIAS / The Star

Mixed doubles shuttler Lai Pei Jing is no longer angry or upset – a day after being dumped from the first round of the World Championships with partner Tan Aik Quan.

The 21-year-old Pei Jing was, on Monday, all riled up by the umpire’s controversial decision.

But, today, she vowed to put the ugly episode behind her and come out of her first world meet a stronger player.

Pei Jing and Aik Quan lost 19-21, 7-21 to Tao Jiaming-Tang Jinhua of China but not before heatedly disputing a decision by the umpire, following a malfunction of the electronic scoreboard.

Both pairs were tied at 20-20 in the opening game but the umpire claimed it was 19-20. 

Pei Jing protested violently but the umpire stood firm. 

The dispute broke and stoppage broke the rhythm and the Malaysians went on to lose in straight games.

“The umpire got it wrong. I told her it was 20-20 but she showed me a paper and said that it was not. She sounded unfriendly,” said Pei Jing who, however, chose not to blame anyone.

“It’s our fault ... we allowed the incident to affect our rhythm.

“Aik Quan and I tried very hard to come back in the second game. We kept telling each other to stay focused but we couldn’t.

“This is a good experience for us. We should have been stronger and focused on how to outplay our opponents.

“My journey has not ended yet. I’ll focus more on training and improving my mental preparation. We want better results to break into the top 16 by end of this year.”

World No. 18 Pei Jing-Aik Quan, who reached the final of the Malaysian Open Grand Prix Gold, will compete in the Taiwan Open next.