Tang Jie-Ee Wei storm into Japan Open quarter-finals
PETALING JAYA : World No 4 mixed doubles pair Chen Tang Jie-Toh Ee Wei came from behind to storm into the quarter-finals of the Japan Open by defeating an Indonesian pair in three games in the second round.
The Malaysian pair, who lost the first game 17-21 to the 14th ranked Jafar Hidayatullah-Felisha Alberta Nathaniel Pasaribu, recovered from the setback to take the next two games 21-16, 21-12 in a match that lasted 58 minutes.
With this win, Tang Jie-Ee Wei will take on world No 24 pair Yuichi Shimogami-Sayaka Hobara, who defeated French pair Thom Gicquel-Delphine Delrue, in the quarter-finals.
Tang Jie-Ee Wei are the second Malaysian pair to enter the mixed doubles quarter-finals after Goh Soon Huat-Shevon Jemie Lai, who defeated Terry Hee-Jin Yujia from Singapore to book their berth in the last eight.
Another Malaysian mixed doubles pair, Hoo Pang Ron-Cheng Su Yin were eliminated from the tournament after losing to China's Jiang Zhen Bang-Wei Ya Xin 9-21, 6-21 in just 29 minutes.
This is the 13th ranked Malaysian pair's third loss in their four encounters with the world No 2.
Winners in the doubles events will pocket US$70,300 (RM299,148) and the runners-up US$33,250 (RM141,494).
The Japan Open is a World Tour Super 750 event offering total prize money of US$950,000 (RM4 million).
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