PETALING JAYA: Mixed doubles coach Nova Widianto hopes that shuttlers Chen Tang Jie-Toh Ee Wei remain committed to their partnership.
Tang Jie-Ee Wei, who reached a career high No. 3 in the world in January, reunited on Wednesday (April 16) after splitting up last month due to a strained relationship over the past few months.
Nova was relieved to see the pair had resolved their differences quickly.
"Tang Jie and Ee Wei informed me that they wanted to come back together last week," said Nova after overseeing a training session at Academy Badminton Malaysia (ABM) in Bukit Kiara on Thursday (Jan 17).
"Earlier, our plan was to pair them up with other players first. We were not sure if they would want to reunite or not.
"We believed that if they wanted to play together again, it was not up to us (coaches or the management) but it had to be entirely up to them. I told them this.
"If we had forced them, they will listen to us at first but they may choose to split up again.
"They have managed to repair their relationship and I hope they realised their mistakes and remain committed in their partnership moving forward," added Nova.
Tang Jie-Ee Wei will compete together again in the Singapore Open from May 27-June 1.
Nova though confirmed that the pair will still play with Chan Wen Tse and Loo Bing Kun respectively in the back-to-back Taiwan Open (May 6-11), Thailand Open (May 13-18) and Malaysian Masters (May 20-25) as planned.
"Yes, they will still play with the junior players for a short while," said Nova.
"I don't think splitting them up and pairing them with other players for a while will adversely affect their performances.
"Instead, they will have to guide the youngsters and cover them on court, so I hope this will push them to work harder when they resume their partnership."
Tang Jie-Ee Wei also have a key role to play in the Sudirman Cup from April 27-May 4 in Xiamen, China after their decision to reunite.
Nova can also choose to call upon world No. 3 Goh Soon Huat-Shevon Lai Jemie and world No. 14 Hoo Pang Ron-Cheng Su Yin in the team meet.
