National mixed doubles pair Chen Tang Jie and Toh Ee Wei experienced a heartbreaking end to their Olympic journey in the quarterfinals of the Paris 2024 Olympics. Despite their determined performance, the world number nine debutants fell to South Koreans Kim Won Ho and Jeong Na Eun with scores of 19-21, 14-21 in a match that lasted 41 minutes.
The defeat was particularly crushing because Ee Wei sustained an early injury, which significantly hindered their chances. In the first set, Ee Wei’s fall forced her to play while wearing a back support brace. Despite this setback, the pair managed to close the score from 10-16 to 19-20 before narrowly losing the set.
Transitioning to the second set, the South Koreans took control with an 11-1 lead. Although the Malaysians mounted a comeback to reduce the score to 11-17, they could not overcome the deficit and ultimately lost the set.
With this victory, Kim Won Ho and Jeong Na Eun will advance to face their compatriots Seo Seung Jae and Chae Yu Jung. Seo and Chae had earlier defeated Hong Kong’s Tang Chun Man and Tse Ying Suet with scores of 21-15, 21-10. Meanwhile, in the other semifinal, the top-ranked Chinese pair Zheng Si Wei and Huang Ya Qiong will compete against Japan’s Yuta Watanabe and Arisa Higashino for a spot in the final.
The Duo's Quarter-Final Struggles and Reflections
Tang Jie-Ee Wei advanced to the quarter-finals as Group A champions after they won all their matches in the group stage, beating Singapore’s Terry Hee-Jessica Tan, Vinson Chiu-Jennie Gai of the United States and world No. 2 Feng Yan Zhe-Huang Dong Ping.
Tang Jie admitted that, in addition to Ee Wei’s injury affecting their performance, the Malaysian pair lacked the maturity needed to handle critical moments on the court.
“Mentally, we were prepared for this match. However, on the court, we lacked the maturity in certain plays and how to handle some situations.”
“Everyone has their pressures, and it was the same for us. Unfortunately, we didn’t make it today. I really appreciate this (Olympics experience),” a despondent Tang Jie told the BWF.
Meanwhile, Ee Wei said she had to play the match with back pain after her fall and was unsure of the severity of the injury.
“We had a good experience playing in the Olympics, though we did not do well in the quarter-finals. There is nothing much I can say now,” she said.
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