SINGAPORE, June 10 — Unperturbed by the reputation of their opponents who have won medals in the Olympics and World Championships, Chen Tang Jie – Toh Ee Wei fought point for point against the experienced Japanese pair, ranked third in the world.
In the semi-finals of the Singapore Open 2023, here today, the national mixed doubles pair managed to tie the score at 2 – 2, 5 – 5, 8 – 8 before Yuta Watanabe – Arisa Higashino increased their tempo to lead 13 – 9, 17 – 12.
Not to be intimidated by their aggresive approach, the pair then chased to 17 – 19 before surrendering the set 17 – 21 in 15 minutes.
“Can do better.. the game was very close. But we cannot afford to do simple mistakes or not dare to make decisions. I need to be brave and consistent,” said Chen to Bernama at the end of the game.
Chen – Toh took the early initiative in the second set to lead 6 – 1 before their opponents clawed back to level the score at 7 – 7, 9 – 9 and 10 – 10.
It was then a very close fight as the pairs kept leveling the points every time another took the lead and the battle continued until 22 – 22 before Watanabe – Higashino collected the next two crucial points for a place in tomorrow’s final.
They will meet Danish pair Matthias Christiansen – Alexandra Boje, who booked their place earlier after disposing Kim Won Ho – Jeong Na Eun of South Korea 21 – 19, 21 – 9.
According to an observer, for Chen – Toh, the result in Singapore Open will allow them to overtake the under-performing Tan Kian Meng – Lai Pei Jing as the national number two pair, when the new world ranking is out this Tuesday (June 13).
Currently, Chen – Toh are number 21, four spots below Tan – Lai, who lately suffered early exits in major tournaments.
With the latest situation, Chen – Toh could soon seriously be considered for the Road To Gold (RTG) programme that is aimed at ending Malaysia’s gold medal drought in the Olympics during the 2024 Paris Olympics.
The pair will have to be in the top 10 ranked spot in the world to make the cut for the RTG programme.
“I think this is something positive. But our main focus is to fight for the country, not against our teammates. Both of us just want to focus on our own game and continue supporting each other,” said Chen.
Tan – Lai’s first-round defeat to Kim Won Ho-Jeong Na Eun of South Korea 12 – 21, 21 – 14, 10 – 21, marked their eighth time falling in the opening hurdle this year, posing questions about their place in the RTG programme, especially with their ranking expected to drop further.
— Bernama
