KUALA LUMPUR: After clinching the Maldives International Challenge 2023 title last week, national mixed doubles duo Hoo Pang Ron-Teoh Mei Xing are now hoping to break into the top 30 by the end of this year.
Mei Xing said it is important for the current world number 49 pair to be in the top 30 as that would definitely open the door for them to play in bigger tournaments such as the Super 500 event and above in the near future.
The 26-year-old shuttler said that their victory against the American duo, Vinson Chiu-Jennie Gai 21-13, 21-18 in the final at the Male Sports Complex was timely and had boosted their confidence following a string of poor results previously.
“I think now we both understand about each other more but we still need more training to make our consistency much better in order to fight with high-level pairs,” she told reporters after the training session here, today.
Since they emerged as the runner-up at the Iran International Challenge last February, Pang Ron-Mei Xing, who began their partnership last December, has been in wretched form by suffering early round exits in four World Tour events before claiming the title in Maldives.
Not only maintaining their consistency, Pang Ron, on the other hand, said they need to come out with a variety of gameplay in a bid to cope with their opponent’s tactics while playing on the court.
“We cannot stick to one type of gameplay, we need to have a variety of games. It means that we can change our gameplay quickly so as to adapt to our opponent’s style of play,” he said.
The 25-year-old player also said that their coach, Nova Widianto, had ‘demanded’ them to keep their confidence and momentum going in future outings after their title win in Maldives.
On their upcoming assignment in Taipei Open 2023 next week, he said they will try their best especially when they face the first hurdle against home duo, Lee Fang-Chih-Sun Wen Pei in the opening round.
Taipei Open 2023, which is part of Super 300 event, will take place in Tian-Mu Arena, University of Taipei from June 20 to 25. – BERNAMA
