Put your feet up: Chen Tang Jie-Toh Ee Wei will now take a short break before turning their attentions to the Malaysian Open from Jan 9-14.
PETALING JAYA: Mixed doubles shuttlers Chen Tang Jie-Toh Ee Wei know that their mission is far from over after enjoying a good year.
The pair ended their first season together as one of the most promising pairs in the country but it will mean nothing if they fall short of qualifying for the 2024 Paris Olympics. And the duo are bent on booking the ticket in the next four months.
Tang Jie-Ee Wei were only combined a year ago but had risen rapidly to become the country’s No. 1 mixed doubles pair.
The duo had reached a career-high No. 8 in the world rankings recently.
Tang Jie-Ee Wei also did well to qualify for the prestigious World Tour Finals in their first year together as a pair and came agonisingly close to reaching the semi-finals.
They needed a win over Thailand’s 2021 world champions Dechapol Puavaranukroh-Sapsiree Taerattanachai in their third Group A match to progress to the last four but went down fighting 21-18, 18-21, 14-21 on Friday.
The pair had pulled off a sensational 12-21, 21-16, 21-16 victory over Japan’s world No. 2 Yuta Watanabe-Arisa Higashino in their second group match.
It was Tang Jie-Ee Wei’s first win over the Japanese pair in three meetings.
The victory meant that the former have now beaten all the current top 10 ranked pairs at least once except China’s world No. 1 Zheng Siwei-Huang Yaqiong.
“Overall, it has been tough but also a good year for us,” said Ee Wei.
“We went through many ups and downs but our mission is not over yet.
“We will continue to stay focused and be humble.”
Tang Jie acknowledged that he and Ee Wei are not the finished article.
“We are still not mature as a pair. We have lots to improve on,” said Tang Jie in a post-match interview with the Badminton World Federation (BWF).
“I hope we can do better next year.”
Among Tang Jie-Ee Wei’s other achievements this year, include winning the World Tour Super 300 Orleans Masters and Taiwan Open titles.
National mixed doubles coach Nova Widianto now wants his charges to consistently come out on top against the top pairs.
“They are capable of beating the top pairs but they are still inconsistent,” said Nova.
“So, they need to work on this. The main target for them next year is to qualify for the Olympics as their position is still not safe yet.”
Tang Jie-Ee Wei need to maintain their position in the top eight in the world until the end of the qualifying period next April to be assured of a spot in the Olympics.
Finishing in the top 16 is also still enough for them provided they are the highest ranked Malaysians.
Tang Jie-Ee Wei will now take a short break before turning their attentions to the Malaysian Open from Jan 9-14.
