KUALA LUMPUR: The recent improved performance of Chen Tang Jie and Toh Ee Wei is a positive sign for the national mixed doubles category as it stirs up fierce competition for other pairs to up their level of play by a notch.
Former national mixed doubles player Goh Liu Ying feels that it is very productive now that Malaysia has several national mixed pairs capable of delivering consistent performances when they are on court.
“Indeed, they (Tang Jie-Ee Wei) played very well and there is a chance to play in the Olympic Games. I think it’s good competition between three or four couples now that the Malaysian mixed doubles level is rising.
“…so this is a very good sign because they will do better than they expect,” she said after the GLY 3V3 Championship at Sunway Velocity on Saturday.
Tang Jie-Ee Wei, who were newly paired last November and ranked 22nd in the world, created a sensation by winning the Orleans Masters badminton tournament last Sunday, after the previous prestige of capturing the title in the 2022 Bangladesh International Challenge.
Meanwhile, two national professional mixed doubles Goh Soon Huat-Shevon Lai are ranked eighth in the world followed by Tan Kian Meng and Lai Pei Jing ranked world 13th, where both pairs are listed in the Road To Gold (RTG) project.
The RTG project introduced by the Ministry of Youth and Sports (KBS) last month is a national project with the objective of coordinating efforts in the country’s hunt for its maiden gold medal at the Olympic Games covering the Paris 2024 and Los Angeles 2028 editions.
Liu Ying, silver medalist at the 2016 Olympic Games, said the recent introduction of the RTG project was very good, especially to help the country’s professional pairs participate in the Badminton World Federation (BWF) tournament to collect qualifying points for the Olympic Games.
“Badminton has one year for players to accumulate qualifying points for the (Paris) Olympic Games, so like the singles (the pairs) will go to many tournaments because it is not certain whether they will qualify or not. And when you go to many tournaments, you really need a sponsor.
“I think that is an important point because (if the matter of sponsors is resolved) it means that the players will not have to worry about the matter and can just focus on getting good results,” she said.
According to the format of the Olympic competition, each country can be represented by a maximum of two doubles pairs if both pairs rank in the top eight in the 2024 Olympic Games qualification campaign, which will start from this May 1. – BERNAMA
