KUALA LUMPUR: Two national mixed doubles pairs – Toh Ee Wei-Loo Bing Kun and Chen Tang Jie-Chan Wen Tse – won’t be competing in the May 13-18 Thailand Open, said mixed doubles head coach Nova Widianto.
Nova said the decision was made to ease their burden of having to compete in three back-to-back tournaments – this week’s Taiwan Open, the Thailand Open and the Malaysia Masters (May 20-25).
He, however, confirmed that the two pairs will compete in the Malaysia Masters.
“They chose not to compete in the Thailand Open and to play in the Malaysia Masters,” he told reporters after the national team’s training session at Akademi Badminton Malaysia (ABM) today.
In March, the Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) confirmed that Tang Jie-Ee Wei had been temporarily split following proposals from the coaching panel, including (national doubles coaching director) Rexy (Mainaky) and Nova, during the recent performance committee meeting.
Tensions between the pair reportedly began during the Paris 2024 Olympics, where they were eliminated in the quarter-finals after losing 19-21, 14-21 to South Korea’s Kim Won Ho-Jeong Na Eun.
As such, the Ee Wei-Bing Kun and Tang Jie-Wen Tse partnerships were forged temporarily and fielded for the Taiwan Open, Thailand Open and Malaysia Masters.
In April, BAM, however, announced that Tang Jie and Ee Wei would resume their partnership, starting with the Singapore Open (May 27-June 1) following a request from both players and after extensive discussions between them and the coaching panel.
