Lucky 8 for Pei Jing?

Short but sweet: Lai Pei Jing briefly partnered Chan Peng Soon in mid-2014.

PETALING JAYA: A rejuvenated Lai Pei Jing is seeking to break the All-England jinx when the prestigious meet begins at the Arena Birmingham tomorrow.

The 28-year-old is set for her eighth appearance in the world’s oldest tournament – albeit her first as a professional player – and she will be hoping to reach at least the quarter-finals for the first time with Tan Kian Meng in the mixed doubles event.

Pei Jing has struggled in the past as she and Kian Meng have failed to make it past the second round since 2017 despite being ranked in the top 15.

Last year, Kian Meng-Pei Jing went down fighting in three games to eventual champions Praveen Jordan-Melati Oktavianti of Indonesia.

Pei Jing also failed to impress with previous partners – Tan Aik Quan (2013 and 2015) and Chan Peng Soon (2014).

“For some reason, I have never done well at the All-England even with different partners, ” said Pei Jing.

“Hopefully Kian Meng and I will strike it right as a professional pair. We’re looking at cracking the last 16 barrier this time and go far as we can.”

Buoyed after getting their independent career off to a decent start by reaching the Swiss Open semi-finals two weeks ago, Kian Meng-Pei Jing are extra determined to do well in Birmingham, thanks to the absence of several top ranked pairs and a favourable draw.

“It’s been a crazy few weeks prior to our trip to Europe, words just can’t describe the struggle we’ve been through. Glad that we made it here and started well in Basel, ” said Pei Jing.

“It has given us a lift and we really want to keep this momentum going at the All-England.

“I believe the absence of some big names, particularly the two Chinese pairs (world No. 1 Zheng Siwei-Huang Yaqiong and No. 3 Wang Yilyu-Huang Dongping) has made the title race quite open.

“Still, we need to take it one match at a time and there’s no need to give unnecessary pressure on ourselves.”

Seeded sixth, the world No. 11 Kian Meng-Pei Jing will meet newly-combined Japanese pair Takuro Hoki-Nami Matsuyama in the first round.

A win will pit them against Germany’s Mark Lamsfuss-Isabel Herttrich in the last 16 and should they advance further, a potential quarter-final clash against second seeds and 2018 winners Yuta Watanabe-Arisa Higashino is on the cards.

If that happens, Kian Meng-Pei Jing won’t be short of confidence as they have beaten Watanabe-Higashino in all their three previous encounters.