KUALA LUMPUR: Top mixed doubles pair Chen Tang Jie and Toh Ee Wei reignited their chances of qualifying for the last four after staging a remarkable comeback to upset Japanese world No 2 pair Yuta Watanabe and Arisa Higashino in their second Group A fixture at the World Tour Finals (WTF) in Hangzhou, China, today.
Tang Jie-Ee Wei put up a gallant fight to stun Watanabe-Higashino 12-21, 21-16, 21-16 in a 61-minute thriller at the Hangzhou Olympic Sports Centre Gymnasium.
Today’s triumph marks the first win for the current world No 8 duo against Watanabe-Higashino after three meetings.
They first faced each other in the Singapore Open semifinals in June.
Tang Jie-Ee Wei will earn their semifinal ticket should they overcome world No 6 pair Dechapol Puavaranukroh and Sapsiree Taerattanachai of Thailand in their final Group A tie tomorrow.
Based on their head-to-head record, the Thais hold a slight edge over the national duo with two wins from three encounters so far.
Their maiden clash in the Malaysia Open quarterfinals in January resulted in a 21-19, 21-9 win for Dechapol-Sapsiree.
Tang Jie-Ee Wei got their WTF campaign on the wrong foot yesterday after losing 21-10, 21-13 to home pair Feng Yan Zhe and Huang Dong Ping.
Only the top two pairs from each group advance to the semifinals. - FMT
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.