PETALING JAYA: National mixed doubles shuttler Toh Ee Wei’s debut in the prestigious All-England was not a memorable one as she crashed out in the first round along with Chen Tang Jie.
Tang Jie-Ee Wei, who were only paired together last November, gave Japan’s world No. 16 Yuki Kaneko-Misaki Matsutomo a tough fight before succumbing 19-21, 24-22, 21-17 in a pulsating encounter in Birmingham yesterday.
Despite the disappointing result, Tang Jie-Ee Wei can take heart from their battling display after they came back from 0-8 down in the third game to narrow the gap to 6-11.
The Malaysian pair, who are aiming to make the cut for the 2024 Paris Olympics, have also shown decent progress in their short time together so far after climbing to No. 36 in the latest world rankings.
Tang Jie-Ee Wei will next look to do better in the Swiss Open from March 21-26 in Basel.
Meanwhile, independent pair Goh Soon Huat-Shevon Lai Jemie will attempt to make up for Tang Jie-Ee Wei’s defeat when they open their campaign against South Korea’s Seo Seung-jae-Chae Yu-jung today.
In the men’s singles, China’s world No. 13 Zhao Junpeng caused one of the biggest upsets of the day when he stunned Singapore’s 2021 world champion Loh Kean Yew 21-16, 16-21, 21-7.
In another match, India’s H. S. Prannoy held his nerves to edge Taiwan’s Wang Tze-wei 21-19, 22-20 to book his spot in the second round.
RESULTS
First round
Men’s singles: H. S. Prannoy (Ina) bt Wang Tze-wei (Tpe) 21-19, 22-20; Zhao Junpeng (Chn) bt Loh Kean Yew (Sin) 21-16, 16-21, 21-7.
Men’s doubles: Shohibul Fikri-Bagas Maulana (Ina) bt Kim Gi-jung-Kim Sa-rang (Kor) 21-15, 13-21, 21-16.
Women’s singles: Chen Yufei (Chn) bt Michelle Li (Can) 22-20, 21-14.
Women’s doubles: Chloe Birch-Lauren Smith (Eng) bt Srivedya Gurazada-Ishika Jaiswal (US) 21-9, 21-18.
Mixed doubles: Yuki Kaneko-Misaki Matsutomo (Jpn) bt Chen Tang Jie-Toh Ee Wei (Mas) 21-19, 22-24, 21-17; Kim So-yeong-Kong Hee-yong (Kor) bt Linda Efler-Isabel Lohau (Ger) 21-11, 21-3; Reginald Lee-Ng Tsz Yau (Hkg) bt Hiroki Midorikawa-Natsu Saito (Jpn) 22-20, 18-21, 26-26.
