Chen Tang Jie and Chan Wen Tse fell in the opening round of the Japan Masters on Wednesday, extending a winless run for Malaysia's mixed doubles pairs as the head coach position remains vacant, The Star reported.
Tang Jie and Wen Tse lost 15-21, 10-21 to Japan’s Yuichi Shimogami and Sayaka Hobara in Wednesday’s first-round match. The defeat follows three consecutive second-round finishes at the Korean Open, Denmark Open, and Arctic Open.
Teammates Jimmy Wong and Cheng Su Yin suffered a similar fate in Japan, dropping an 8-21, 21-23 decision to China’s Guo Xinwa and Chen Fanghui. That result marks a third straight opening-round exit for Wong and Su Yin since the Denmark Open.
Tang Jie has cycled through different partners while regular partner Toh Ee Wei recovers from an anterior cruciate ligament injury in her left knee. Before pairing with Wen Tse, Tang Jie played alongside Clarissa San—reaching the quarter-finals of the Korean Masters in Asan in August—and partnered Su Yin at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games without making headway.
Wong returned to the national set-up in April after strong performances as an independent player alongside Lai Pei Jing. While Wong and Su Yin reached the semi-finals of the Japan Open earlier, their recent tournament outings have consistently ended in early defeats.
The pair struggles follow the departure of Nova Widianto, who left his post as mixed doubles head coach with the Badminton Association of Malaysia in July to return to Indonesia for family reasons. National doubles coaching director Rexy Mainaky has overseen the squad in the interim.
BAM initially planned to announce a successor after the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games, but ultimately appointed Teo Kok Siang as an assistant coach while leaving the head coach position unfilled.
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