PETALING JAYA: Former 2021 World Championships bronze medallist Teo Ee Yi hopes a fresh start with new partner Chia Wei Jie can help him work his way back to becoming one of the world’s top men’s doubles pairs.
The Thailand Open, which begins today at the Nimibutr Stadium in Bangkok, will be the first tournament for Ee Yi-Wei Jie since forming their partnership last month.
The decision to pair Wei Jie with Ee Yi caught many by surprise, considering Ee Yi and Ong Yew Sin had been together for 11 years since joining forces in 2015.
However, the move is seen as a necessary step to help revive Ee Yi’s career.
Towards the end of Ee Yi and Yew Sin’s partnership, the pair struggled for consistent results and often suffered early exits, with the All-England in March turning out to be their final tournament together after more than a decade as partners.
The new partnership with Wei Jie is now seen as an opportunity for Ee Yi to rediscover his best form, while also allowing the younger player to learn from him.
For now though, Ee Yi is not setting any targets at the Thailand Open as he and Wei Jie are still in the process of understanding each other’s game.
Making things tougher, they will face eighth seeds Rian Ardianto-Rahmat Hidayat from Indonesia in the opening round.
“There are still many things we need to improve because both of us need to understand each other better. I do not have any targets yet because we want to see how things go first.
“For the rest of the year, hopefully Wei Jie and I can break into the top 32,” said Ee Yi.
Also competing in this year’s edition are several other Malaysian pairs, including senior duo Tan Wee Kiong-Nur Azriyn Ayub, who will face teammates Low Hang Yee-Ng Eng Cheong in the opening round.
Goh Sze Fei-Nur Izzuddin Rumsani, meanwhile, will await opponents from the qualifying rounds.
Lau Yi Sheng-Lim Tze Jian will take on former world championship runners-up from China, He Jiting-Ren Xiangyu, in the qualifying rounds, while Choong Hon Jian, who is partnering Wong Vin Sean in a new combination, will face home pair Kittinupong Kedren-Lucas Wedler.
