World No 127 pair Jimmy-Pei Jing defy odds to enter Macau Open final
PETALING JAYA : New mixed doubles combination Jimmy Wong-Lai Pei Jing pulled off another major upset in the Macau Open today by defeating sixth seeds Amri Syahnawi-Nita Violina Marwah of Indonesia to advance to tomorrow's final.
The Malaysians, who are ranked No 127 in the world, took 42 minutes to defeat the world No 16 Indonesians 21-18, 21-16.
The victory marks the first time the pair have reached a World Tour final together, having only partnered in March after Pei Jing's split with her regular partner, Tan Kian Meng, who has retired.
In the final, they will meet either compatriots Chen Tang Jie-Toh Ee Wei or Danish pair Mathias Christiansen-Alexandra Boje, who will be playing in the other semi-final later today.
Jimmy-Pei Jing's giant-killing feats include victories over second seeded Cheng Xing-Zhang Chi of China in the quarter-finals, and India's world No 18 pair Dhruv Kapila-Tanisha Crasto in the round of 16.
Jimmy, 23, and Pei Jing, 33, became the second Malaysian finalists in Macau after men's singles player Justin Hoh defeated India's Tharun Mannepalli in the semi-finals earlier.
The Macau Open is a BWF World Tour 300 event which offers a total prize money of US$370,000 (RM1.58 million), with the singles champions receiving US$27,750 (RM118,792) and the runners-up US$14,060 (RM60,188).
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