PETALING JAYA: Shuttler Teoh Mei Xing deserves credit for rebuilding her career in the women’s doubles with Go Pei Kee after a series of setbacks.
Mei Xing was on a promising path with previous partner Anna Cheong but their combination was cruelly cut short after the latter tore her anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury in her right knee at the end of 2022.
Anna tried to make a comeback with Mei Xing in 2023 but never fully recovered and was forced to retire from the sport.
The pair reached a career high No. 17 before Anna’s injury and looked capable of breaking into the world’s top 10.
Without Anna, Mei Xing played in the mixed doubles with Hoo Pang Ron for a short while.
It looked like her career was also going to peter out but the 28-year-old refused to give up and has found a new lease of life after combining with Pei Kee last year.
Mei Xing is set to return to the top 20 in the world again with the 23-year-old when the official rankings list are updated today.
Mei Xing-Pei Kee, who are currently ranked at No. 22, pulled off a sensational victory over Japan’s world No. 8 Rin Iwanaga-Kie Nakanishi to reach the ongoing China Open quarter-finals in Changzhou.
Although the duo then lost to world No. 7 home pair Jia Yifan-Zhang Shuxian, it was still a breakthrough for them after making it into their maiden World Tour Super 1000 last eight.
It was also Mei Xing-Pei Kee’s first win over a pair ranked in the top 10.
Mei Xing hopes the breakthrough will be the start of more for her and Pei Kee.
“This is our best performance this year and we are feeling positive,” said Mei Xing.
“We hope to keep going. Our aim next is to try to win a Super 300 or 500 title.”
Mei Xing-Pei Kee’s only title so far together is the Malaysia Super 100 which they clinched last October.
The pair have an opportunity to build on their performance in China when they compete next in the Super 300 Macau Open which starts on Tuesday.
Mei Xing-Pei Kee are out to progress further in the tourney after quarter-final finishes in the Indonesian Masters, Orleans Masters and German Open this year.
