PETALING JAYA: Mixed doubles pair Jimmy Wong-Lai Pei Jing are on the brink of creating history not just for themselves but also for Malaysian badminton at the Macau Open today.
They can end a 23-year title drought by knocking out Denmark’s Alexandra Boje and Mathias Christiansen in the final.
No Malaysian mixed doubles pair has ever won the tournament since its inception back in 2002.
For Pei Jing, it has been a long wait of more than 13 years to reach a final, after making her debut in 2012 with Tan Aik Quan, where they exited as early as the second round.
Her best effort previously was a semi-final finish with Tan Kian Meng in 2016, where they were stopped by Hong Kong’s Tan Chun Man-Tse Ying Suet.
Jimmy and Pei Jing have been riding on a strong momentum in this tournament, having defeated several seeded pairs along the way.
They stunned fifth seeds Dhruv Kapila-Tanisha Crasto of India in the second round, before pulling off another upset in the quarter-finals by beating second seeds Cheng Xin-Zhang Chi of China.
In the semi-finals yesterday, they continued their fine form by taking down world No. 19 and sixth seeds Amri Syahnawai-Nita Marwah of Indonesia 21-18, 21-16.
It will not be an easy match against the Danes today although they are returning to action after Christiansen served a one-year suspension for failing to comply with anti-doping whereabouts requirements.
The Danes showed their determination when they dashed hopes of an all-Malaysian final after coming from behind to defeat top seeds Chen Tang Jie-Toh Ee Wei 15-21, 21-17, 21-11 yesterday.
On paper, Jimmy and Pei Jing have never faced this Danish pair as they were only formed in March.
However, when Pei Jing partnered Kian Meng, they won three of their five previous encounters against Boje-Christiansen, with the latest win coming at the Indonesia Open last year.
Malaysia will also be represented in the men’s doubles final through Wan Arif Wan Junaidi-Yap Roy King, who overcame fellow Malaysians Choong Hon Jian-Mohd Haikal Nazri 21-13, 21-15 in the semi-finals.
They will face either top seeds Sabar Gutama-Moh Reza Isfahani of Indonesia or Taiwan’s Lee Fang-chih-Lee Fang-jen.
