Tough fight: Chen Tang Jie (right) and Toh Ee Wei went down 18-21, 21-14, 17-21 to China’s Zheng Siwei-Huang Yaqiong in the final of the World Tour Finals. — AFP
PETALING JAYA: Shuttlers Chen Tang Jie-Toh Ee Wei missed out on the World Tour Finals title but proved that they are Malaysia’s best mixed doubles pair after Chan Peng Soon-Goh Liu Ying.
Malaysia have struggled to fill the void left behind by 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympic Games silver medal winners Peng Soon-Liu Ying after the pair split up in 2021 and eventually retired from the sport.
Tang Jie-Ee Wei showed that they have what it takes to follow in the footsteps of Peng Soon-Liu Ying or even go one step better at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Games when they ended their two-year anniversary as a partners with their biggest achievement so far in the prestigious Finals.
The world No. 8 pair gave China’s Paris Olympics gold medallists Zheng Siwei-Huang Yaqiong a run for their money before going down 18-21, 21-14, 17-21 in a pulsating final in 75 minutes in Hangzhou yesterday.
It was arguably Tang Jie-Ee Wei’s best performance although they could not crown their fine run with the title.
The duo still created history when they became the first Malaysian mixed doubles pair to make it into the final in the season ender since the tournament’s inception in 2008.
Tang Jie-Ee Wei’s previous best achievement was capturing the Super 500 Korean Open in August.
The pair took home US$100,000 (RM443,000) in prize money for their runners-up finish in Hangzhou.
Though happy with her progress with Tang Jie so far, Ee Wei has vowed to learn the lessons from the narrow defeat to Siwei-Yaqiong and improve further.
“They were more consistent during the crucial points. This is what we need to learn from them,” said Ee Wei in a post match interview with the Badminton World Federation.
“They did very well during the last few points, so we will take this as a lesson to improve our game.
“We really struggled in our last few tournaments before this and I’m really happy that we managed to improve after we had a few discussions.
“Although we didn’t win the title, this is a good breakthrough for us and this is a positive sign for our future,” added Ee Wei.
Meanwhile, Tang Jie paid tribute to Siwei, who played his last international match and ended his career on a high note.
“It’s a special for us because as we all know Siwei-Yaqiong are legends and superstar players,” said Tang Jie.
“We are really happy and proud that his last match was against us. At the same time we wanted to win but could not.
“We rushed a bit with our shots. Our strategy worked but at the critical points, it was still not good enough.”
Tang Jie-Ee Wei will have a short break before turning their attentions next to the Malaysian Open from Jan 7-12 at the Axiata Arena in Bukit Jalil.
