PETALING JAYA: It was a day of mixed fortunes in the mixed doubles camp as Chen Tang Jie-Toh Ee Wei moved into the China Masters second round, but the journey ended abruptly for Goh Soon Huat-Shevon Lai Jemie.
Fourth seed Tang Jie-Ee Wei had a shaky start but managed to find their footing as they came from behind to overpower Taiwanese duo Ye Hong-wei-Nicole Chan and won 21-23, 21-9, 21-12 at the Shenzhen Gymnasium yesterday.
But it was a shakier start for Soon Huat-Shevon as their campaign in China only lasted 27 minutes before China’s Guo Xinwa-Cheng Fanghui won 21-9, 21-9 and sent the Malaysians home.
Shevon admitted that the pair were struggling to focus on court, leaving them unable to catch up to their opponents.
“The focus was just off and we couldn’t get our momentum back on court, we have to take a look back at that.
“It was our first match on this court, added to the fact that we had not tested the court before the match.
“But everything was fine, the drift was normal, it was just us that underperformed in the match,” she said.
Meanwhile, for Tang Jie-Ee Wei, they savoured their first win after being away for more than a month following Ee Wei’s hand injury in September.
The pair crashed out in the opening round at the Japan Masters last week, which made this win in Shenzhen a step in the right direction.
“This is our first win since the injury, and to win it here means a lot to us.
“The Chinese fans are very supportive of us and we enjoy playing here,” said Tang Jie.
Meanwhile, Soon Huat-Shevon moved up a spot in the world rankings to No. 9, pushing Tang Jie-Ee Wei down to 10th, but both pairs are set to compete at the World Tour Finals in Hangzhou from Dec 11-15.
FIRST ROUND RESULTS
(Malaysians only)
Men’s doubles: He Jiting-Ren Xiangyu (Chn) bt Choong Hon Jian-Haikal Nazri (Mas) 21-12, 21-15; Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik (Mas) bt Shohibul Fikri-Daniel Marthin (Ina) 21-12, 21-18; Tan Wee Kiong-Nur Mohd Azryin Ayub (Mas) bt Peeratchai Sukphun-Pakkapon Teeraratsakul (Tha) 21-19, 21-15; Goh Sze Fei-Nur Izzuddin Rumsani (Mas) bt Kenya Mitsuhashi-Hiroki Okamura (Jpn) 21-23, 21-14, 21-13; Yap Roy King-Wan Arif Wan Junaidi (Mas) bt Chen Boyang-Liu Yi (Chn) 21-17, 18-21, 21-16.
Women’s singles: Michelle Li (Can) bt Goh Jin Wei (Mas) 21-18, 21-16.
Mixed doubles: Chen Tang Jie-Toh Ee Wei (Mas) bt Ye Hong-wei-Nicole Chan (Tpe) 21-23, 21-9, 21-12; Guo Xinwa-Chen Fanghui (Chn) bt Goh Soon Huat-Shevon Lai Jemie (Mas) 21-9, 21-9.
