PETALING JAYA: Chen Tang Jie-Toh Ee Wei are eyeing a spot in the Road to Gold (RTG) high performance training programme.
The national mixed doubles pair, who captured their first World Tour title at the recent Orleans Masters in France, are out to continue their good form to stand a chance of being included in the RTG.
“This is an added motivation for us,” said Tang Jie.
Keep momentum going: Chen Tangjie is back in training barely a day after returning home from Paris.
“Results are the most important part in sports and people will sit up and take notice of you only when you become a champion.
“Ee Wei and I will strive to continue producing good results to stand a chance of being selected for the RTG.”
Tang Jie-Ee Wei, who were only paired together last November, have risen four rungs from No. 26 to No. 22 in the latest world rankings and are on the right track to achieve their dream of qualifying for the 2024 Paris Olympics.
The duo are currently locked in a three-way battle with independent pairs Goh Soon Huat-Shevon Lai Jemie (No. 8) and Tan Kian Meng-Lai Pei Jing (No. 13) for the two spots given to each country in the Olympics.
Two pairs from the same country will only be able to make the cut if both finish in the top eight at the end of the one year qualification period, which begins next month.
Soon Huat-Shevon and Kian Meng-Pei Jing have already been selected for the RTG but the latter need to buck up to maintain their position in the programme after dropping out of the top 10 in the world.
Meanwhile, Tang Jie-Ee Wei proved their hunger to continue their good work when they resumed training at the Academy Badminton Malaysia (ABM) in Bukit Kiara yesterday despite only returning after a 13-hour flight from France the day before.
“We reached Kuala Lumpur at 6pm on Monday after a 13-hour flight,” said Tang Jie.
“Our coach (Nova Widianto) gave us a day off but we wanted to return to training and got to work at 7am this morning (yesterday).
“We want to start preparing for our next tournament.”
Tang Jie-Ee Wei will compete in the Asian Championships in Dubai from April 25-30 next.
The pair face a stern test in the Asian meet after they were pitted against South Korea’s world No. 10 Kim Won-ho-Jeong Na-eun in the first round.
Tang Jie-Ee Wei had lost out 20-22, 14-21 to the South Korean pair in the quarter-finals of the German Open last month.
