Fired-up: Tang Jie (right) Ee Wei will get a chance to avenge their defeat to South Korea’s Kim Won-ho-Jeong Na-eun at the Asian Championships.
PETALING JAYA: Listening to the right song and beat inspires Chen Tang Jie to step up before a match.
And expect Tang Jie to perform the same ritual when he gets ready with partner Toh Ee Wei in preparation for their first Asian Championships in Dubai from April 25-30.
“I love to hear catchy songs that is easy to get me all excited ... there are many fast beat songs in my playlist,” said Tang Jie.
“I also love to watch anime before a match too, somehow, I draw a lot of motivation from it and it helps me.
“Overall, I’m happy with my partnership with Ee Wei. For now, we need to learn how to handle ourselves during critical points and be more consistent in training and tournaments.
“We still have a lot more to improve and learn,” added a modest Tang Jie.
Tang Jie-Ee Wei are looking to build on their Orleans Masters title win in France two weeks ago.
At the Asian meet, Tang Jie-Ee Wei will get a chance to avenge their defeat to South Korea’s Kim Won-ho-Jeong Na-eun in the first round.
World No. 22 Tang Jie-Ee Wei lost to the world No. 10 pair in the quarter-finals of the German Open last month.
Mixed doubles coach Nova Widianto wants his charges to be more patient to try and turn the tables on the Koreans this time.
“The draw is quite tough for Tang Jie-Ee Wei but they have to be prepared to face anyone as they are still an upcoming pair,” said Nova.
“The Korean pair are strong and Tang Jie-Ee Wei need to be more patient in their attack and stay in the rallies.
“In their match in Germany, Ee Wei was not patient enough.”
If they do manage to create an upset in their opening match, they will face either Indonesia’s experienced pair Praveen Jordan-Melati Daeva or Japan’s Kyohei Yamashita-Naru Shinoya in the second round.
On their preparations for the tournament, Ee Wei said: “We have not had much time to train after the Orleans Masters.
“So, we have been maximising our efforts in every training session.
“We need to be focused and translate what we have been doing in training into the match.”
Tang Jie-Ee Wei are the only national pair in the Asian meet.
They will be joined by independent combinations Goh Soon Huat-Shevon Lai Jemie (No. 8), Tan Kian Meng-Lai Pei Jing (No. 13) and Chan Peng Soon-Cheah Yee See (No. 35).
Soon Huat-Shevon will open their campaign against Orleans Masters runners-up Ye Hong-wei-Lee Chia-hsin of Taiwan while Kian Meng-Pei Jing face last month’s Swiss Open winners Jiang Zhenbang-Wei Yaxin of China.
Peng Soon-Yee See will play a pair from the qualifiers.
