PETALING JAYA: Mixed doubles shuttler Toh Ee Wei has backed partner Chen Tang Jie to make a quick recovery from a shoulder injury ahead of the Hylo Open starting on Tuesday in Saarbrucken, Germany.
Tang Jie was troubled by the shoulder problem and could not play at his best which ultimately led to the pair going down 9-21, 18-21 to Hong Kong’s Tang Chun Man-Tse Ying Suet in the French Open quarter-finals at the Glaz Arena in Cesson Sevigne yesterday.
Tang Jie suffered pain in his right shoulder before the match but he went on to play with Ee Wei.
The pair struggled badly in the first game before putting up a better fight in the second after the 27-year-old had some cold spray on the affected area.
It was not enough though to prevent the defeat in 37 minutes.
Despite fears over Tang Jie’s physical condition, Ee Wei is confident that her partner will be able to play in the Hylo Open.
“This (injury) is not a big problem for us. Sometimes, I’m injured too, so my partner will cover for me,” said Ee Wei in a post match interview with the Badminton World Federation (BWF).
“We chose to play and gave our best for every point. We just tried to get as many points as possible.
“This is the first time that our game was affected by the injury to Tang Jie. We need to learn from this and try again in the next tournament. We will keep going after this.”
Tang Jie said: “I was not at my best condition and that made the situation tougher for us.”
“Before entering the court, I could not lift up my hand but I played on, so there are no excuses for the defeat.
“This is the situation that I need to accept.
“I felt I needed to try my maximum effort. I felt sorry for my partner. We wanted to win. It was frustrating for her as well.”
It was Tang Jie-Ee Wei’s maiden defeat to world No. 8 Chun Man-Ying Suet after coming out on top in both their previous meetings.
It is the world No. 3’s first loss in the last eight since capturing the world crown in Paris in August.
Tang Jie-Ee Wei finished runners-up in the China Masters last month and made it into the last four in the Denmark Open last week.
Meanwhile, Malaysia’s challenge in the mixed doubles came to an end after world No. 9 independent pair Goh Soon Huat-Shevon Lai Jemie also lost 18-21, 16-21 to China’s world No. 2 Feng Yanzhe-Huang Dongping.
RESULTS
(Malaysians unless stated)
Quarter-finals
Women’s singles: Chen Yufei (Chn) bt Akane Yamaguchi (Jpn) 21-14, 16-21, 21-10; An Se-young (Kor) bt Gao Fangjie (Chn) 17-21, 21-11, 21-18; Han Yue (Chn) bt Tomoka Miyazaki (Jpn) 21-7, 14-21, 23-21; Wang Zhiyi (Chn) bt Kim Ga-eun (Kor) 22-20, 21-18.
Mixed doubles: Tang Chun Man-Tse Ying Suet (Hkg) bt Chen Tang Jie-Toh Ee Wei 21-9, 21-18; Feng Yanzhe-Huang Dongping (Chn) bt Goh Soon Huat-Shevon Lai Jemie 21-18, 21-16; Dechapol Puavaranukroh-Supissara Paewsampran (Tha) bt Hiroki Midorikawa-Natsu Saito (Jpn) 21-16, 21-15.
Second round
Men’s doubles: Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik bt Ong Yew Sin-Teo Ee Yi 21-10, 24-22; Goh Sze Fei-Nur Izzuddin Rumsani bt Lee Jhe-huei-Yang Po-hsuan (Tpe) 18-21, 23-21, 21-14; Man Wei Chong-Tee Kai Wun bt Ben Lane-Sean Vendy (Eng) 13-21, 21-19, 21-14; Yap Roy King-Wan Arif Wan Junaidi bt Xie Haonan-Zeng Weihan (Chn) 21-12, 21-17.
Women’s doubles: Pearly Tan-M. Thinaah bt Zhang Shuxian-Bao Lijing (Chn) 22-20, 21-15.
