Hard times: Mixed doubles shuttlers Chen Tang Jie (left) and Toh Ee Wei will have to pay a fine of US$5,000 for pulling out from Asian meet.
KUALA LUMPUR: Will a short break apart do wonders for top mixed doubles pair Chen Tang Jie-Toh Ee Wei?
This will be answered when the Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) performance task force committee meet today at Academy Badminton Malaysia (ABM) in Bukit Kiara.
Speculation about a rift and possible split has intensified following reports that Tang Jie-Ee Wei had been suddenly withdrawn from the Asian Championships in Ningbo, China, from April 8-13. The strain in their partnership came to light after they were knocked out in the first round of the All-England in Birmingham two weeks ago. They did not take part in the Swiss Open that ended yesterday.
It was learnt that one of players had even deleted all their photos in the social media platform after the Birmingham outing.
Even former All-England champion Tan Boon Heong had offered to help last week and encouraged the duo to mend their differences.
BAM acting president Datuk V. Subramaniam, who will chair the performance task force committee, acknowledged that the duo were facing internal issues.
However, he stressed that any decision on their future would only be made after a thorough review of the coaching team’s report.
The meeting will also address Malaysia’s disappointing outing at the All England, which has been described as one of Malaysia’s worst performances in the prestigious tournament’s history.
“Yes, there will be three committee meetings held tomorrow (today). One of the key matters to be discussed is the post-mortem on the All England failure and other European tournaments,” said Subramaniam.
“We don’t have the details yet as we are still waiting for the coaching team’s report, so I can’t comment further at this stage. Only after the report is presented we can make any decisions.
“I think everyone is aware that there are some issues, and right now, the focus should be on finding the best way to resolve them,” said Subramaniam when contacted.
Tang Jie-Ee Wei first partnered as juniors, winning a bronze medal at the World Junior Championships in Bilbao, Spain, in 2016.
They reunited in November 2022 and made remarkable progress in a short period, climbing to a career-high world No. 4 ranking and even securing their spot at the Paris Olympics.
However, cracks have begun to show in their partnership, with rising tension between them becoming more evident on court during the Europe stints.
Despite the recent setbacks, Subramaniam remains optimistic that Tang Jie and Ee Wei’s internal issues could be resolved amicably.
“Personally, I believe conflicts like these are normal. Just like in a family, problems will arise, but there is always a solution,” he added.
