KUALA LUMPUR: Shuttlers Chen Tang Jie-Toh Ee Wei are back on track as the country’s top mixed pair and they’re working together for a common goal.
While happy with the positive show of oneness, Tang Jie-Ee Wei have been advised to continue to communicate openly with their coaches should they face any tension in their collaboration on the court in future.
Former national mixed doubles player Goh Liu Ying said the world No. 4 pair not only need to communicate with each other, but should discuss more in depth with their coaches to ensure they are on the same track and goal.
Their coach is Indonesian Nova Widanto.
“Each player will see each other’s weaknesses because they want to improve,” said Liu Ying.
“There may be players who feel like using this tactic but their partner may want to use another strategy. I think that situation (in doubles) is very common.
“So, the role of the coach here is very important, they have to discuss so that they can achieve the same goal,” she said when met recently at the Kidslympic programme.
In March, the Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) announced that Tang Jie-Ee Wei were separated to give the coach room to try a new combination following tension in their relationship.
Following that, the two of them got new partners, with Ee Wei pairing Loo Bing Kun while Tang Jie paired with Chan Wen Tse in the 2025 Taiwan Open as their first test.
However, in April, BAM announced that Tang Jie-Ee Wei were paired again following a request from both players and the result of comprehensive discussions between the coaching team and the players.
Liu Ying said that any disagreement that arose was a bittersweet moment that any pair had to go through and she also faced the same situation with her partner Chan Peng Soon once before.
“We quarrelled too much. All pairs quarrel but the purpose of the quarrel was the same because we wanted to win,” she said.
Liu Ying and Peng Soon once made history by becoming the first mixed doubles representatives from the country to win a silver medal at the 2016 Rio Olympics. — Bernama
