KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 27 — Newly-hired badminton coach Nova Widianto wants the two national mixed doubles pairs to be sent to more international tournaments to help them improve their world rankings.
Nova said Chen Tang Jie – Toh Ee Wei (World no. 148) and Hoo Pang Ron – Teoh Mei Xing (no. 158) should at the same time maintain their best performance in order to qualify for the Paris Olympic Games 2024 once the qualifying competitions begin on May 1 next year.
“These two combinations have been brought together as permanent pairs with the target of qualifying for the 2024 Olympics. So, it is okay to start with small championships like Super 100 or Mixed International to move up the world rankings and be eligible for higher-status tournaments.
“They definitely need to start with small tournaments first, and I am confident they can win, as proven by Tang Jie – Ee Wei’s victory in Bangladesh. Every time there is a chance to participate in tournaments, we will be there,” the Indonesian told reporters at the Academy Badminton Malaysia (ABM) here today.
The move to team up Tang Jie with Ee Wei recently has paid dividends as they beat Thailand’s Phatharathorn Nipornam – Alisa Sapniti 21 – 15, 21 – 13 to win the Bangladesh International Challenge title in Dhaka on December 11.
Pang Ron – Mei Xing also started their partnership on the right footing when they beat Tang Jie – Ee Wei in the final of the Malaysia International Challenge in Ipoh on December 18.
The 45-year-old Nova is optimistic that Tang Jie – Ee Wei could challenge Malaysia’s professional pair Tan Kian Meng – Lai Pei Jing, the sixth seeds in the Malaysia Open 2023 from January 10 to January 15 next year.
“I believe they (Tang Jie – Ee Wei) can win if they play with confidence. However, they are still new and should not be subjected to too much pressure and high expectations,” he said.
Nova was hired as the national mixed doubles coach on December 21 to fill the vacancy left by Paulus Firman, who left the Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) in April.
Nova, who was coaching the Indonesian national team before joining BAM, partnered with Liliyana Natsir to win the world title in 2005 and 2007 and the 2008 Olympics silver medal.
— Bernama
