Rising fast: Mixed doubles pair Chen Tang Jie (right) and Toh Ee Wei celebrate after winning their first world tour title at the Orleans Open.
PETALING JAYA: Rising mixed doubles pair Chen Tang Jie-Toh Ee Wei have proven they have the quality to challenge the seniors in the Olympics race after winning the Orleans Open, their first world tour title, in France yesterday.
Tang Jie-Ee Wei, who were only paired together last December, have been growing from strength to strength and won the super 300 title in Orleans after beating Taiwan’s Ye Hong-wei-Lee Chia-hsin 21-19, 21-17 in 35 minutes.
The Malaysians, ranked world No. 26, overcame an early wobble in the second game where they trailed 2-9 before making a strong comeback to ensure their golden opportunity to win a Badminton World Federation (BWF) tour title didn’t slip away.
The duo started their new combination by winning the Bangladesh International Challenge (IC) in Dhaka last December and added the Iran Fajr IC in February and had also reached the quarter-finals of the super 1000 Malaysian Open in January and the Swiss Open last week.
Tang Jie-Ee Wei were only projected to win a super 300 title by August but they have far exceeded their coach Nova Widianto’s expectations.
An emotional Ee Wei, 22, paid tribute to the Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM), mixed doubles coach Nova and her former coaches and family members for backing her up during her struggle with health issues.
“I think the credit goes to BAM, my teammates and coaches. They did not give up on me and kept supporting me all the way,” said Ee Wei.
“My career was up and down for the last five years. I had a sinus problem and suffered a lot.
“Not forgetting my family who were with me when I was at the hospital, my darkest time.”
The chronic sinus problem forced Ee Wei to quit the national team temporarily but she made a swift return and the shuttler also thanked BAM president Tan Sri Norza Zakaria for his support and allowing her to return to the national team.
Meanwhile, Nova is not getting carried away with the pair’s progress by saying that they are good enough to join the Olympics race with independent pairs Tan Kian Meng-Lai Pei Jing (world No. 7) and Goh Soon Huat-Lai Pei Jing (No. 10).
“Their next aim is to do well at the higher level, especially in the super 500 events.
“I’m not putting pressure on them to win as they must continue improving their results until they are good enough to do it.
“I’m satisfied with the way they fought today (yesterday) to win but there are still many aspects in their game that they need to improve.
“They also need to be more consistent. Let them win the titles the hard way first and slowly, they will be more consistent.”
The victory should propel Tang Jie-Ee Wei closer to the world’s top 20, setting them on the right track as the Olympic qualifying race begins in May.
Meanwhile, India’s Priyanshu Rajawat won his first super 300 men’s singles title after beating Magnus Johannessen of Denmark 21-15, 19-21, 21-16.
Men’s singles: Priyanshu Rajawat (Ind) bt Magnus Johannessen (Den) 21-15, 19-21, 21-16. Mixed doubles: Chen Tang Jie-Toh Ee Wei bt Ye Hong-wei-Lee Chia-hsin 21-19, 21-17.
