Mixed doubles shuttlers Chen Tang Jie and Toh Ee Wei rejoice after stunning world no. 1 pair Feng Yanzhe and Huang Dongping in the China Masters semi-finals yesterday. They will play Thailand’s Dechapol Puavaranukroh-Supissara Paewsampran in the final today. — AFP
PETALING JAYA: Mixed doubles shuttlers Chen Tang Jie-Toh Ee Wei have attributed their fine 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 yesterday.
The reigning world champions displayed great fighting spirit and determination to bounce back after losing the first game narrowly to come away with the victory.
Tang Jie-Ee Wei have made it into their maiden World Tour Super 750 final and will take on Thailand’s world No. 4 Dechapol Puavaranukroh-Supissara Paewsampran for the title today.
Tough task: Thailand’s Dechapol Puavaranukroh-Supissara Paewsampran will be in Chen Tang Jie-Toh Ee Wei’s way in the China Masters final today.
Against the formidable Yanzhe-Dongping, Tang Jie-Ee Wei had only won twice in six meetings previously but refused to be intimidated in front of the passionate home fans and kept the pressure on the defending champions to grab the win.
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 have extended their unbeaten run since winning the world title in Paris at the end of last month.
The duo though remained humble, saying that Yanzhe-Dongping were still the best mixed doubles pair in the world.
“They are the top pair in mixed doubles. Althoug, we won today (yesterday), there are 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 have ended China’s dominance in the mixed doubles in the 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 the head-to-head records as they have beaten Tang Jie-Ee Wei thrice in their past four clashes.
The Malaysians though will be out to end their campaign on a high and capture their second title of the year.
