PARIS: National mixed doubles pair Chen Tan Jie-Toh Ee Wei kickstarted the country’s Paris 2024 Olympics pursue in badminton by beating Singaporean couple Terry Hee Yong Kai-Jessica Tan Wei Han, today.
Ranked world number nine, the duo managed to overcome a slow start to notch a 23-21, 21-12 victory for first point in the Group D match at Porte de La Chapelle Arena.
Tan Jie-Ee Wei will next take on Vinson Chiu-Jennie Gai of the United States tomorrow, before concluding the round robin against reigning Asian champions Feng Yang Zhe-Huang Dong Ping of China on Monday.
Earlier, world number two Feng Yang Zhe-Huang Dong Ping defeated the Americans 21-11, 21-14.
Only top two pairs in the group stage advance to the quarter-finals.
Speaking to Bernama after the match, Tan Jie-Ee Wei, making their Olympics debut, said they were shocked to see a full-packed arena with about 8,000 spectators on the first-day itself, as usually it will be less crowded during other tournaments, including this year’s French Open held at the same arena.
“I was shocked to see a full crowd attendance but it brought excitement and positive spirits to fight. At the start, my body was still stiff, but we managed to overcome the early jitters.
“We were just concentrating on how to secure the points and not worried about what was happening. Our focus was to concentrate point by point. However, we later rushed into finishing off the match and that gave our opponents space to close down the gap.
“Lastly, we both trusted each other and really speak about the strategies to win. We are excited and happy to have a good start, but still early in the group stage, anything can happen, we must be prepared,” he said.
Meanwhile, Ee Wei said they will discuss on the match approach against the American players later, as they don’t want to put too much pressure on their minds.
