Going all out: Chen Tang Jie-Toh Ee Wei will likely play Hong Kong’s Reginald Lee-Ng Tsz Yau in the second round.
PETALING JAYA: Toh Ee Wei won’t have it easy in her debut World Championships with Chen Tang Jie in Copenhagen from Aug 21-27.
Instead, as the Badminton Association of Malaysia’s (BAM) No. 1 and the most promising mixed doubles pair in the country this year, expectations will be high on Tang Jie-Ee Wei at the world meet.
The duo who were only paired last December, remain the only Malaysian representatives to win two World Tour titles this year – at the Orleans Masters in April and Taiwan Open in June.
Ee Wei herself is looking forward to making the most of her opportunity in the world meet.
“I’m quite excited as I have never played in the World Championships before,” said Ee Wei, who will turn 23 next month.
“Tang Jie and I don’t have a specific target but we will go all out in every match.”
The pair will be seeded in the tournament as they are currently ranked No. 16 in the world and have managed to avoid the top three pairs in the world in the opening three rounds.
Despite this, Tang Jie-Ee Wei have obtained a tricky draw.
They have received a first-round bye and will likely play Hong Kong’s world No. 25 Reginald Lee-Ng Tsz Yau in the second round.
A win could see Tang Jie-Ee Wei face world No. 8 Thom Gicquel-Delphine Delrue of France in the third round.
If they do survive until the quarter-finals, they could set up a clash against Japan’s world No. 2 and last year’s silver medallists Yuta Watanabe-Arisa Higashino.
Tang Jie-Ee Wei’s form heading into the world meet is not the best.
The pair suffered early round defeats in the back-to-back Korean, Japan and Australian Opens recently.
“I’m not satisfied as we gave our best but did not get good results,” said Ee Wei.
“We need to work harder to improve.”
Tang Jie-Ee Wei will be joined in the world meet by independent pairs Goh Soon Huat-Shevon Lai Jemie and Tan Kian Meng-Lai Pei Jing.
World No. 10 Soon Huat-Shevon, who also received a first-round bye, should have no problems reaching the third round where they will likely face a tough task against China’s world No. 7 Jiang Zhenbang-Wei Yaxin.
World No. 21 Kian Meng-Pei Jing, meanwhile, have a tricky test in the second round against Thailand’s world No. 12 Supak Jomkoh-Supissara Paewsampran.
