PETALING JAYA: Mixed doubles shuttlers Chen Tang Jie-Toh Ee Wei have credited their successful run to the China Masters final to their strong mentality.
Tang Jie-Ee Wei pulled off their biggest win in the tournament when they stunned home favourites and world No. 1 Feng Yanzhe-Huang Dongping 22-24, 21-19, 21-17 in a thrilling 80-minute semi-final match at the Shenzhen Arena on Friday (Sept 19).
The reigning world champions displayed great fighting spirit and determination to bounce back after narrowly losing the first game, ultimately coming away with the victory.
Tang Jie-Ee Wei had made it into their maiden World Tour Super 750 final and would take on Thailand's world No. 4 Dechapol Puavaranukroh-Supissara Paewsampran for the title on Saturday (Sept 20).
Against the formidable Yanzhe-Dongping, Tang Jie-Ee Wei had only won twice in six meetings prior, but refused to be intimidated in front of the passionate home supporters and kept the pressure on the defending champions to secure the victory.
The world No. 3 pair were happy to get the breakthrough after losing to the Chinese pair in their last four encounters.
"We are happy that we managed to get a breakthrough because our last win over our opponents was in the Paris Olympics (last year). After that, we lost to them four times in a row," said Tang Jie in a post-match interview with the Badminton World Federation (BWF).
"This is a good win for us as our coaches Nova (Widianto) and Lutfi (Zaim), have said they never want to only see if we can win matches, but they want to see our character on court."
The win meant that Tang Jie-Ee Wei had extended their winning streak since capturing the world title in Paris at the end of last month.
The duo, however, remained humble, saying that Yanzhe-Dongping were still the best mixed doubles pair in the world.
"They are the top pair in mixed doubles. Although we won on Friday, there is still a lot we need to learn from them," said Ee Wei.
"One of the important things for us to remember is that regardless of whether we are trailing or leading in matches, we need to keep focusing on every point."
Tang Jie-Ee Wei had ended China's dominance in the mixed doubles competition, along with Dechapol-Supissara, who toppled another home pair, world No. 2 Jiang Zhenbang-Wei Yaxin, 21-17, 22-20 to reach the final.
The badminton powerhouses had captured the mixed doubles title in every edition since the tournament's inception in 2005.
In the final, the Thais hold the advantage based on their head-to-head records, having beaten Tang Jie-Ee Wei three times in their past four clashes.
The Malaysians, though, would be out to end their campaign on a high and capture their second title of the year.
