All ears: Chen Tang Jie (right) and Toh Ee Wei listening to their coach’s instructions at the Malaysian Masters.
PETALING JAYA: Consistency is key to Chen Tang Jie-Toh Ee Wei’s hopes of making the cut for the 2024 Paris Olympics.
This is the belief of national mixed doubles coach Nova Widianto.
Nova has called on his charges to be more consistent, starting with the Singapore Open which kicks off tomorrow.
Tang Jie-Ee Wei, who were only paired up last December, had progressed rapidly in their short time together so far.
The pair had captured the Orleans Masters in April and reached No. 20 in the latest world rankings.
Nova, though, wants more from Tang Jie-Ee Wei after they crashed out in the early rounds of their last three individual competitions – the Asian Championships, Malaysian Masters and Thailand Open recently.
In Thailand, the pair had stunned China’s world No. 5 Feng Yanzhe-Huang Dongping in their opening match but went down fighting 23-21, 17-21, 11-21 to Japan’s world No. 21 Yuki Kaneko-Misaki Matsutomo.
“Tang Jie and Ee Wei have the quality to beat any pair in the world but they are still lacking in consistency,” said Nova.
“They are still making mistakes in matches and need to improve to keep progressing.
“In the Singapore Open, I hope they can go as far as possible.”
Tang Jie-Ee Wei are still the third ranked pair in the country but are rapidly closing the gap on independent pair Tan Kian Meng-Lai Pei Jing (No. 18).
Another independent combination Goh Soon Huat-Shevon Lai Jemie are ranked higher than both at No. 7.
Tang Jie-Ee Wei need to break into the top eight by the end of the qualification period next April to book their spot in the Olympics.
In the Singapore Open which has been upgraded from Super 500 to 750 this year, Tang Jie-Ee Wei face a tricky opening test against Japan’s world No. 15 and 2021 World Championships bronze medallists Kyohei Yamashita-Naru Shinoya.
A win will likely see Tang Jie-Ee Wei take on South Korea’s Seo Seung-jae-Chae Yu-jung in the second round. They are in the same quarter with Goh Soon Huat-Shevon Lai Jemie and in the same lower half with second seeds Yuta Watanabe-Arisa Higashino.
In the top half, the top seeds are Zheng Siwei-Huang Yaqiong of China. They are in the same quarter with Tan Kian Meng-Lai Pei Jing.
