PETALING JAYA: The Taiwan Masters may only be a lower-tier Super 100 tournament, but winning the title today would mean much more to women’s doubles pair Carmen Ting-Ong Xin Yee (pic).
The world No. 26 pair have yet to win a title together since moving up to the senior ranks, and today’s final could be their chance to finally end that wait.
The decision to send Carmen-Xin Yee back to a lower-tier tournament appears to be paying off, although they still have one final hurdle to clear against Indonesia’s second seeds Isyana Syahira-Rinjani Kwinnara.
The Malaysians have lived up to their top billing in Kaohsiung, booking their place in the final after brushing aside Taiwan’s Lin Yen-yu-Wang Yi-zhen 21-13, 21-9 in just 26 minutes at the Kaohsiung Arena yesterday.
It was a welcome breakthrough for Carmen-Xin Yee, who had gone almost a year without reaching a final since their last appearance at the Odisha Masters in December last year.
The pair have struggled to make an impact in higher-tier tournaments this year, with their campaign often ending in the early rounds.
Their disappointing run had even led to calls for the pair to be split up, but women’s doubles head coach Rosman Razak stood firm and insisted there would be no changes to their partnership.
Today’s final gives Carmen-Xin Yee a chance to repay Rosman’s faith and prove that his decision to keep them together was the right one.
Meanwhile, Malaysia could also celebrate a double success in Kaohsiung, with mixed doubles pair Wee Yee Hern-Vanee Gobi also chasing their first senior title together.
But they will have their work cut out against South Korea’s Jeong Na-eun, who won silver at the Paris Olympics, and her current partner Ki Dong-ju, who finished runners-up in the men’s doubles alongside Kang Min-hyuk at the Asian Championships in April.
Yee Hern-Vanee earned their place in the final after overcoming Taiwan’s Lin Sheng-ming-Sun Liang-ching 21-11, 11-21, 21-8 in yesterday’s semi-finals.
