PETALING JAYA: Chen Tang Jie (pic) knows changes are part and parcel of a player’s career, and the mixed doubles shuttler is ready to adapt once again with new coach Teo Kok Siang set to come on board next Tuesday.
As one of the senior players in the mixed doubles squad, Tang Jie believes the players must be ready to adapt quickly to any changes in the coaching set-up.
The squad recently lost Nova Widianto, who had played a key role in guiding Tang Jie and his partner Toh Ee Wei to the world title last year, after the Indonesian returned home due to family commitments.
Tang Jie also had to deal with Ee Wei suffering an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury a few weeks earlier, which ruled the pair out of the World Championships in New Delhi.
Despite the changes, Tang Jie said he has to remain professional and give his full cooperation to Kok Siang when the latter takes over.
“For a good player, they should adapt to the coach, not the coach having to adapt to the player,” he said.
“No coach comes in wanting their players to become worse. They will always want to help the players achieve more.
“So whoever our coach is, I will try my best to cooperate with him so that we can become a better combination,” said Tang Jie.
Tang Jie will partner Cheng Su Yin at the China Masters next week, where they have been drawn against fifth seeds Guo Xinwa-Chen Fanghui in the first round.
Although their partnership has looked promising in training, Tang Jie admitted it is difficult to know how they will fare until they step onto the court in competition.
“No matter how good training is, we still have to see how we perform in a tournament because there are many uncertainties,” he said.
