PETALING JAYA: So close, yet so far.
Mixed doubles pair Jimmy Wong-Cheng Su Yin admitted they still have plenty to work on if they hope to get back on the podium.
The duo, who enjoyed an impressive run at the Japan Open this week, saw their campaign come to an end in the semi-finals after losing 21-17, 18-21, 15-21 to Hong Kong’s Tang Chun Man-Tse Ying Suet.
The defeat was especially painful as Jimmy-Su Yin had led by three points in the second game and were closing in on a place in the final before the world No. 8 pair’s experience turned the match around.
“In the second game, we were leading by three points. We were probably a bit too eager to finish the match because it was our first time in this situation. But it’s something we need to learn from,” said Jimmy in a post-match interview with BWF.
“Experience obviously makes a big difference at crucial points. They have the experience, so they know how to handle those moments better.’’
Jimmy also admitted it was difficult to play against Chun Man-Ying Suet as both players are left-handers.
“They’re very experienced, and both of them are left-handed. That makes them very difficult to play against because some of their shots are hard to read,” he added.
Despite the defeat, Jimmy-Su Yin can take plenty of positives from their campaign after defeating three higher-ranked pairs in Tokyo.
They began their run by upsetting home favourites and world No. 14 Yuichi Shimogami-Sayaka Hobara before knocking out world No. 7 Thom Gicquel-Delphine Delrue of France.
The Malaysians then produced another impressive display to stun world No. 3 Mathias Christiansen-Alexandra Boje and book their place in the semi-finals.
Meanwhile, men’s doubles pair Goh Sze Fei-Nur Izzuddin Rumsani also bowed out after losing to South Korea’s Seo Seung-jae-Kim Won-ho.
The semi-final at the Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium was a rematch of last year’s Japan Open final, but the outcome remained the same as Sze Fei-Izzuddin went down 12-21, 21-11, 13-21 in 58 minutes.
Semi-finals
Men’s singles: Koki Watanabe (Jpn) bt Yushi Tanaka (Jpn) 19-21, 23-21, 21-19; Christo Popov (Fra) bt Kodai Naraoka (Jpn) 21-14, 21-11.
Men’s doubles: Kim Won-ho-Seo Seung-jae (Kor) bt Goh Sze Fei-Nur Izzuddin Rumsani (Mas) 21-12, 11-21, 21-13.
Women’s singles: P.V Sindhu (Ind) bt Chen Yufei (Chn) 21-19, 15-10 (rtd); Akane Yamaguchi (Jpn) bt Putri Kusuma (Ina) 9-21, 21-16, 21-14.
Women’s doubles: Kim Hye-jong-Kong Hee-yong (Kor) bt Hsu Yin-hui-Lin Jhih-yun (Tpe) 21-18, 21-18; Jia Yifan-Zhang Shuxian (Chn) bt Yuki Fukushima-Mayu Matsumoto (Jpn) 21-15, 12-21, 23-21.
Mixed doubles: Feng Yanzhe-Huang Dongping (Chn) bt Akira Koga-Natsu Saito 21-13, 21-8; Tang chun Man-Tse Ying Suet (Hkg) bt Jimmy Wong-Cheng Su Yin (Mas) 17-21, 21-18, 21-15.
