PETALING JAYA: Chinese greats Zheng Siwei-Huang Yaqiong’s retirement has opened the door for a new champion in the mixed doubles in the prestigious All-England from March 11-16 in Birmingham.
And mixed doubles coach Nova Widianto is hoping for the world No. 4 Chen Tang Jie-Toh Ee Wei to take advantage of the situation.
Siwei-Yaqiong captured the title in 2019, 2023 and 2024 and were the pair to beat before their retirement at the end of last year.
Several top combinations like Japan’s Yuta Watanabe-Arisa Higashino, South Korea’s Seo Seung-jae-Chae Yu-jung and Thailand’s Dechapol Puavaranukroh-Sapsiree Taerattanachai have also split up after the Paris Olympics in August, making the race quite open at this year’s edition.
“All the pairs have a chance to win the All-England title this time, not just Tang Jie-Ee Wei. There is no clear favourite,” said Nova.
“Siwei-Yaqiong have retired and many other top pairs have ended their partnerships and this has made the mixed doubles competition more open.”
Tang Jie-Ee Wei are looking to make their mark in the tournament after losing in the early rounds in both their outings in 2023 and 2024.
Last year, the duo got off to a smashing start by upstaging Dechapol-Sapsiree but could not maintain their form and suffered a disappointing defeat to Holland’s Robin Tabeling-Selena Piek in the second round.
Nova stressed that Tang Jie-Ee Wei need to handle the pressure well to do better this time.
“Tang Jie-Ee Wei have the capabilities to do well but they need to handle the expectations on them better,” said Nova.
“Previously, this is where they had struggled. The pressure is higher in big tournaments. They want to be champions which is good but they need to control their emotions on court.
“Last year, they were leading (against Tabeling-Piek) but ended up losing, so they need to improve.”
The draw for the All-England will be released on March 4.
Before the tourney, Tang Jie-Ee Wei will be out to build their confidence with a good showing in the Orleans Masters starting on Tuesday.
The pair are the top seeds and will open their campaign against Denmark’s Rasmus Espersen-Amalie Kudsk.
The other Malaysians in the fray are Hoo Pang Ron-Cheng Su Yin and independent combination Wong Tien Ci-Lim Chiew Sien.
Pang Ron-Su Yin will play a qualifier in the first round while Tien Ci-Chiew Sien will take on China’s Zhu Yijun-Zhang Chi.
