THE happy faces said it all.
A 23-year wait for a mixed doubles badminton title in the SEA Games ended when Hoo Pang-Ron-Cheah Yee See and Chen Tang Jie-Peck Yen Wei performed brilliantly to assure a gold by making it an all-Malaysian affair in today’s final.
Both knocked out Indonesian pairs in the semi-finals.
World No. 29 Tang Jie-Yen Wei were arguably more impressive as they upset the top seeds and higher-ranked Rinov Rivaldy-Pitha Haningtyas 20-22, 21-13, 21-18 in 63 minutes.
Second seeds Pang Ron-Yee See lived up to their billing when they battled for 65 minutes to beat a stubborn Adnan Maulana-Mychell Bandaso 18-21, 21-16, 21-17.
Malaysia last won the mixed doubles gold through Chew Choon Eng-Chor Hooi Yee at the 1999 SEA Games in Brunei.
The gold saved Malaysia the blushes as they had won three golds at the last edition in the Philippines through Lee Zii Jia (men’s singles), Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik (men’s doubles) and S. Kisona (women’s singles).
Tang Jie was overjoyed with the win and he should be as the last few minutes in the deciding game was full of suspense. He made a few costly mistakes but fortunately, recovered in time for a strong finish.
“I feel very proud that my teammates and I won our matches to end the long wait for a mixed doubles title for Malaysia,” said Tang Jie.
This will be their second final of the year after finishing runners-up in the Indian Open in January.
“It was a very close match. In the third game, the Indonesians were in the lead but we kept supporting each other and believed in ourselves. Finally, we made it to the final,” said a relieved Yen Wei.
The 26-year-old vowed to go all out to win the gold with Tang Jie in today’s final although it would be tough to face their own teammates.
“We train together every day and we know each other well. Let’s see who perform well tomorrow to win the match,” said Yen Wei.
“Tang Jie and I need to be more confident with our combination. Anything can happen on court, so we have nothing to lose,” she added.
Yee See failed to make it a double joy when she crashed out in the semi-finals of the women’s doubles with junior Cheng Su Hui.
They went down 16-21, 6-21 to Thai sisters Benyapa Aimsaard-Nuntakarn Aimsaard who were just too good.
The 19-year-old Su Hui was still happy to get a medal in her debut SEA Games and to gain valuable experience after playing against a top pair with senior Yee See.
“The Thai sisters are more experienced than us. It was a really tough match. I still learnt a lot during the match, so I hope I can improve on what I lack after this,” she said.
“Overall, I feel very happy as winning the bronze is a good start for me.”
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