Tang Jie-Ee Wei in Japan Open semis after smashing past home pair
World No. 4 Tang Jie-Ee Wei were in fine form as they only needed 32 minutes to come away with a 21-14, 21-12 victory over the world No. 24 duo at the Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium on Friday (July 18).
The Malaysians will next face either independent teammates Goh Soon Huat-Shevon Lai Jemie or China's Jiang Zhenbang-Wei Yaxin for a place in the final.
Tang Jie-Ee Wei will be attempting to reach their first final this year.
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The Star
3 hours ago
- The Star
Doubles dream of 1-2 as Ong-Teo and Goh-Izzuddin reach Japan Open semis in style
PETALING JAYA: It was a day when the professional men doubles shuttlers stole the show by toppling giants and turning the Japan Open into a stage for their resurgence. Old-hands Ong Yew Sin-Teo Ee Yi pulled off the biggest shock of the day when they sent China's top duo Liang Weikeng-Wang Chang packing in the quarter-finals while world No. 1 Goh Sze Fei-Nur Izzuddin Rumsani kept their hopes of defending their title alive by coming out on top over Indonesia's Fajar Alfian-Shohibul Fikri. Yew Sin-Ee Yi were over the moon after finally finding the formula to overcome Weikeng-Wang Chang after three defeats to the pair this year. Hopes were not high on the world No. 30 against the Paris Olympics silver medallists but the independent combo played brilliantly to defy the odds and claim a narrow 25-23, 21-19 victory at the Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium yesterday. Yew Sin, who wed former Japanese women's singles player Aya Ohori last month, looked in inspired form with Ee Yi as the pair reached the last four for the first time this year. 'I'm quite excited about this win. This is a confidence boost to ourselves. This means a lot to us,' said Yew SIn in an interview with the Badminton World Federation (BWF) yesterday. Ee Yi said: 'We tried to avoid easy mistakes because we played against Weikeng-Wang Chang a few times and the points were always close. 'So, we tried to be more patient and luckily we could play like how we wanted today (yesterday). Yew Sin, 30 and Ee Yi, 32 have superbly turned around their form after suffering seven consecutive first round exits this year. The pair last made it into the last four in the China Open last September. Even Yew Sin-Ee Yi admitted that even they were surprised by their sensational run in the tourney. 'We were really surprised that we could reach the semi-finals after losing in the first round seven times which is not easy to do,' joked Ee Yi. 'After this, we don't want to think too much about winning but we just want to really enjoy ourselves and try to take it step by step.' Yew Sin-Ee Yi though have a tough task next against South Korea's world No. 3 Seo Seung-jae-Kim Won-ho. Seung-jae-Won-ho beat another Malaysian pair, world No. 7 Man Wei Chong-Tee Kai Wun 21-13, 18-21, 21-13 to book their spot in the last four. Meanwhile, Sze Fei-Izzuddin had to survive a huge scare against scratch pairing Fajar-Shohibul before coming away with a hard fought 21-13, 17-21, 22-20 win in 59. The pair were staring at defeat when they trailed 19-20 in the third game but showed great determination to come back to snatch victory. Sze Fei-Izzuddin will next take on Taiwan's Liu Kuang-heng-Yang Po-han, who defeated another Malaysian duo Tan Wee Kiong-Nur Mohd Azriyn Ayub 18-21, 25-23, 21-17. If both pros win their matches, it will be another all-Malaysian final in men's doubles, just like how it was at the Malaysian Masters this year when Wei Chong-Kai Wun beat Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik for the title. There was also joy for Malaysia in the women's doubles when world No. 3 Pearly Tan-M. Thinaah made it into the last four with a 21-15, 21-19 victory over South Korea's Jeong Na-eun-Lee Yeon-woo. Standing in Pearly-Thinaah's way to the final will be world No. 2 and home favourites Nami Matsuyama-Chiharu Shida. RESULTS (Malaysians unless stated) Quarter-finals Men's singles: Koki Watanabe (Jpn) bt Weng Hongyang (Chn) 15-21, 21-15, 21-11; Alex Lanier (Fra) bt Chi Yu-jen (Tpe) 21-16, 21-14; Shi Yuqi (Chn) bt Wang Tzu-wei (Tpe) 21-19, 21-10; Christo Popov (Fra) bt Kodai Naraoka (Jpn) 18-21, 21-13, 21-8. Men's doubles: Ong Yew Sin-Teo Ee Yi bt Liang Weikeng-Wang Chang (Chn) 25-23, 21-19; Seo Seung-jae-Kim Won-ho (Kor) bt Man Wei Chong-Tee Kai Wun 21-13, 18-21, 21-13; Goh Sze Fei-Nur Izzuddin Rumsani bt Fajar Alfian-Shohibul Fikri (Ina) 21-13, 17-21, 22-20; Liu Kuang-heng-Yang Po-han (Tpe) bt Tan Wee Kiong-Nur Mohd Azriyn Ayub 18-21, 25-23, 21-17. Women's singles: An Se-young (Kor) bt Chen Yufei (Chn) 21-16, 21-9; Wang Zhiyi (Chn) bt Putri Kusuma (Ina) 20-22, 21-17, 21-16; Akane Yamaguchi (Jpn) bt Pornpawee Chochuwong (Tha) 21-15, 24-22; Riko Gunji (Jpn) bt Han Yue (Chn) 21-17, 21-10. Women's doubles: Pearly Tan-M. Thinaah bt Jeong Na-eun-Lee Yeon-woo (Kor) 21-15, 21-19; Nami Matsuyama-Chiharu Shida (Jpn) bt Kim Hye-jeong-Kong Hee-yong (Kor) 19-21, 21-19, 21-18; Jia Yifan-Zhang Shuxian (Chn) bt Baek Ha-na-Lee So-hee (Kor) 21-18, 17-21, 21-15. Mixed doubles: Chen Tang Jie-Toh Ee Wei bt Yuichi Shimogami-Sayaka Hobara (Jpn) 21-14, 21-12; Jiang Zhenbang-Wei Yaxin (Chn) bt Goh Soon Huat-Shevon Lai Jemie 21-13, 23-21; Dechapol Puavaranukroh-Supissara Paewsampran (Tha) bt Tang Chun Man-Tse Ying Suet (Hkg) 20-22, 21-14, 21-14; Feng Yanzhe-Huang Dongping (Chn) bt Hiroki Midorikawa-Natsu Saito (Jpn) 21-10, 21-9.
The Star
4 hours ago
- The Star
Rexy gives nod as Tang Jie-Ee Wei brace to face Chinese giants
No sweat: Chen Tang Jie-Toh Ee Wei powered into the last four with a convincing 21-14, 21-12 win over Yuichi Shimogami-Sayaka Hobara. PETALING JAYA: Mixed doubles shuttlers Chen Tang Jie-Toh Ee Wei are bracing for a major test in the Japan Open semi-finals today but they have shown they are ready to rise to the challenge. After a nervy start to their campaign, Tang Jie-Ee Wei found their rhythm and powered into the last four with a convincing 21-14, 21-12 win over world No. 24 homesters Yuichi Shimogami-Sayaka Hobara in 32 minutes at the Tokyo Metropolitan Gym–nasium. Their performance drew praise from national doubles coaching director Rexy Mainaky, who lauded the duo for their growing confidence. They now face a formidable hurdle in China's world No. 2 Jiang Zhenbang-Wei Yaxin. Rexy said Tang Jie-Ee Wei needed some time to find their rhythm again as the Japan tourney was only their third individual outing together since reuniting following a brief split. 'In the first and second rounds, Tang Jie-Ee Wei struggled a bit as they have only been playing together for a short time after reuniting. They were a bit unsure on their game,' said Rexy. 'But I can see today (yesterday), their performance was positive. Both were focused on what they needed to do. 'Ee Wei, especially played well at the front court and this made Hobara lose confidence at the net. Tang Jie-Ee Wei will be out to reach their first final this year and Rexy knows that Zhenbang-Yaxin will present a tougher test. 'We hope they can maintain this momentum and continue to play positively in the semi-final against the second seeded Chinese pair,' added Rexy. The Chinese duo, who are also the defending champions, ended hopes of an all-Malaysian semi-final after beating independent pair Goh Soon Huat-Shevon Lai Jemie 21-13, 23-21. Zhenbang-Yaxin ousted Tang Jie-Ee Wei in the last eight in last year's edition en route to capturing the title. The former hold a narrow advantage in the head-to-head records after also coming out on top over the latter in the 2023 Arctic Open semi-final while Tang Jie-Ee Wei's sole win over the Chinese pair so far came in the Orleans Masters quarter-final in the same year.
New Straits Times
6 hours ago
- New Straits Times
Sze Fei-Izzuddin still hanging on to Japan Open crown
KUALA LUMPUR: Their world No. 1 status will leave them next Tuesday after eight weeks, but men's doubles Goh Sze Fei-Nur Izzuddin Rumsani showed little signs of loosening their grip on their Japan Open crown. Sze Fei-Izzuddin showed their battling qualities against Indonesian scratch pair Fajar Alfian-Shohibul Fikri, digging deep for a 21-13, 17-21, 22-20 win at the Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium today. Their efforts also confirmed Malaysia four pairs in the semi-final stage tomorrow. They are men's doubles Ong Yew Sin-Teo Ee Yi, women's doubles Pearly Tan-M. Thinaah and mixed doubles Chen Tang Jie-Toh Ee Wei. Sze Fei-Izzuddin were under tremendous pressure as they faced formidable opponents today. Fajar is currently ranked world No. 5 with long-time partner Rian Ardianto while Shohibul's partner Daniel Marthin has been out for a few months after knee surgery. Sze Fei-Izzuddin will be on a "revenge" mission against Liu Kuang Heng-Yang Po Han in the last four after the Taiwanese world No. 24 outplayed Malaysia's Nur Mohd Azriyn Ayub-Tan Wee Kiong 18-21, 25-23, 21-17 in the last eight. Meanwhile Yew Sin-Ee Yi will be getting additional support from the Japanese fans when they take on world No. 3 Kim Won Ho-Seo Seung Jae of South Korea (who will become the new No. 1 next week) in the last four due to the Aya Ohori factor. Former Japanese world No. 7 Ohori has been the calming presence and inspiration behind her husband Yew Sin this week, and a Malaysian upset over the fancied Koreans cannot be ruled out.
