Tough battle: Chen Tang Jie-Toh Ee Wei returning a shot to China’s Jiang Zhenbang-Wei Yaxin. — AFP
PETALING JAYA: World champions Chen Tang Jie-Toh Ee Wei and world championships runners-up Pearly Tan-M. Thinaah will take a short break before returning refreshed for a new assault at the Malaysian Open from Jan 7-12.
Both pairs had hoped to make a strong impression at another world level tournament, but their campaigns at the World Tour Finals in Hangzhou, China, ended at the semi-final stage yesterday.
In the mixed doubles, Tang Jie-Ee Wei went down fighting against world No. 2 Jiang Zhenbang-Wei Yaxin 21-9, 11-21, 17-21 in a 58-minute battle, marking their second consecutive loss to the Chinese pair since defeating them in the world meet final in August.
Wei Yaxin, in particular, had begun reading the flick serves that Tang Jie and Ee Wei frequently relied on in their quest for points, forcing the Malaysians to rethink their approach on court.
“We did, we definitely did flick serve Yaxin. But I think every player knows their opponent’s weaknesses and strengths very well. So I think she was also trying to figure out how to counter the shot.
“For us, we just stuck to our plan and focused on adjusting our strategies to make them work against them,” said Tang Jie in a post match interview with Badminton World Federation (BWF).
Pearly-Thinaah’s campaign ended after a second straight loss to Japan’s Yuki Fukushima-Mayu Matsumoto, going down 19-21, 13-21.
The defeat came just a day after the two pairs also clashed in their final Group A match on Friday.
The Malaysian duo had earlier impressed in the group stage, reaching the semi-finals for the first time in the tournament.
“This match, the opponent really pressured us. In the defensive part, we didn’t perform quite well. But this is something to take note of and work on,” said Thinaah.
Although their dreams of reaching the final fell short, both pairs can still leave Hangzhou with smiles after pocketing US$60,000 (RM245,000) each for their semi-final finishes.
The 2025 World Tour Finals featured a total prize purse of US$3mil (RM12.25mil).
