PETALING JAYA: It was not the dream start Clarissa San had hoped for, but the mixed doubles shuttler still walked away smiling.
Making her debut alongside senior partner Chen Tang Jie, the 20-year-old went down 15-21, 19-21 to Taiwan’s Yang Po-hsuan-Hu Ling-fang in the first round of the Japan Open yesterday.
Clarissa was drafted in to replace Toh Ee Wei, who is in Melbourne undergoing rehabilitation following knee surgery.
Despite the defeat, Clarissa remained upbeat after gaining valuable experience from her first outing with Tang Jie.
“I’m grateful for the opportunity to participate at such a big event. While nerves were certainly present, the excitement far outweighs them,” said Clarissa in an interview with BWF after the match today.
It was her first major badminton tournament and the lack of experience showed.
Clarissa thanked Tang Jie for his guidance.
“I followed his lead. He guided me throughout and it worked well in the second game but it wasn’t enough to get over the line,” said Clarissa.
“I’ll take the positives and work on enhancing my game. Hopefully, this will lead to more wins in the future.”
The 28-year-old Tang Jie praised his younger partner but admitted there were room for growth.
“She is performing well, but we still require time to get used to each other in order to perform better,” said Tang Jie.
The duo will next compete in the China Open from July 21-26.
