Formidable foes: Chen Tang Jie-Toh Ee Wei will be up against China’s world No. 1 Cheng Siwei-Huang Yaqiong if they reach the second round of the Japan Open in two weeks.
But Chen-Toh vow to keep trying to upset top pairs
PETALING JAYA: Mixed doubles pair Chen Tang Jie-Toh Ee Wei are making waves after bagging their second Tour title this year but they have conceded that they are nowhere near the world’s top combinations for now.
Tang Jie-Ee Wei had shown tremendous progress since being paired off in December last year and are currently ranked world No. 14 and have two BWF Tour titles, the Orleans Open in France and the Taiwan Open, over the last seven months.
But Ee Wei feels they still can’t break the stranglehold of the world’s top three led by Cheng Siwei-Huang Yaqiong of China.
World No. 1 Siwei-Yaqiong are the reigning Olympic champions and have won four titles on the Badminton World Federation (BWF) tour this year.
Second ranked Yuta Watanabe-Arisa Higashino of Japan are two-time All-England champions (2018 and 2022) while world No. 3 Dechapol Puavaranukroh-Sapsiree Taerattanachai were the 2021 world champions.
“Siwei-Yaqiong, Watanabe-Higashino and Dechapol-Sapsiree are the hardest to beat.
“They are way ahead of others and we have to continue working hard to close the gap,” said the 22-year-old Ee Wei.
“The other three pairs are experienced, very consistent and hardly make mistakes and these are the qualities that we need to learn from them.
“It has been a good experience to play Siwei-Yaqiong and Watanabe-Higashino but we are optimistic we can make a breakthrough if we keep trying.
“The other pairs in the top eight are also not easy to face and there have never been easy matches for us. We have to always stay focused.”
The Malaysians will get the opportunity to play against Siwei-Yaqiong should they reach the second round of the Japan Open in Tokyo from July 20-25.
Tang Jie-Ee Wei have lost twice to Siwei-Yaqiong while Watanabe-Higashino beat them in the semi-finals of the Singapore Open last month but they have not played Thai pair Dechapol-Sapsiree yet.
Tang Jie-Ee Wei are grateful for the coach Nova Widianto, a two-time world champion in the mixed doubles, who has been behind their quick progress. Ee Wei believes they can achieve more under the Indonesian coach.
“It gives us confidence to have a former world champion as our coach and he has taught us a lot. When he is behind us during matches, it’s uplifting and he provides solutions,” added Ee Wei.
Tang Jie-Ee Wei, who are part of the Road to Gold programme, have a good chance of qualifying for the 2024 Paris Olympics but Ee Wei doesn’t want to think too far ahead and wants to gain consistency and bridge the gap with the elite pairs first.
