PETALING JAYA: Chen Tang Jie ripped off his shirt and hurled it to the ground, while Toh Ee Wei leapt into the arms of coaches Nova Widianto and Rexy Mainaky.
It was a celebration born of struggle and redemption, as the pair carved their names into badminton history by finally ending Malaysia’s long wait for a mixed doubles title at the World Championships.
Yesterday in Paris, Tang Jie and Ee Wei produced the performance of their lives to stun China’s world No. 2 Jiang Zhenbang-Wei Yaxin 21-15, 21-14 at the Adidas Arena in Port de la Chapelle.
The raw emotions spilled freely after their triumph which was a fitting release after months of turbulence and doubt.
“We celebrated so much because this is the World Championships. We are world champions,” said a tearful yet elated Ee Wei in her post-match interview with the Badminton World Federation (BWF).
Tang Jie said: “I cannot express in words exactly what I feel right now but I’m very happy that people can call us world champions.”
“It’s very meaningful for every athlete. We prepared very well for the match and we were determined to focus fully on the match and enjoy every point.”
The world No. 4 pair split up briefly due to a strained relationship in March before resolving their differences quickly and reuniting less than a month later.
Even after coming back together, Tang Jie-Ee Wei struggled for consistency and did not reach any finals this year before the world meet.
The duo, though, turned their form around superbly and were rewarded for their perseverance in the City of Lights.
An emotional Ee Wei said that the historic win meant even more for her and Tang Jie as it fell on Malaysia’s Independence Day.
“When we played in the third round (against Indonesia’s Jafar Hidayatullah-Felisha Pasaribu), we had a lot of pressure but we managed to overcome it,” she said.
“Today (yesterday), we just followed our game plan.
“This means a lot to us because it’s also our National Day and we had a full house of Malaysian fans supporting us.”
Tang Jie-Ee Wei started strongly and raced to a 11-6 lead and never looked back to wrap up the game.
The pair again made a brilliant start in the second game and led 10-5 but Zhenbang-Yaxin tried to mount a comeback and closed the gap at 12-14.
Tang Jie-Ee Wei though were not to be denied and held firm to grab the win in 40 minutes and take the precious gold.
“We played with confidence as we have had a great tournament these past few days and we kept supporting each other.
“Our coach (Nova Widianto) kept asking us to take a deep breath and play with clear mind,” added Ee Wei.
The pair have become only the second Malaysians to be crowned world champions after men’s doubles duo Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik’s breakthrough success in 2022 in Tokyo.
The duo’s biggest title before this was the World Tour Super 500 Korean Open which the duo won last year.
The breakthrough win meant that Malaysia have halted China’s dominance in the mixed doubles after the badminton giants captured the title 10 times previously.
Indonesian Nova also deserves lots of credit after guiding Tang Jie-Ee Wei to the title 20 years after he first won the gold with Liliyana Natsir in Anaheim in 2005.
The 47-year-old captured the crown with Liliyana again in 2007 and his experience was vital as he masterminded the brilliant win over Zhenbang-Yaxin.
Tang Jie-Ee Wei have only beaten the Chinese pair once in their past four meetings heading into the match but the former defied the odds to come away with the victory this time on one of the biggest stages.
And what a fitting finale for one of the most adored pairs in the country.
