Tang Jie-Ee Wei stun top Japanese pair to revive semi chances

Tang Jie-Ee Wei stun top Japanese pair to revive semi chances

Malaysian mixed doubles pair stage remarkable comeback to beat Yuta Watanabe and Arisa Higashino.

Chen Tang Jie and Toh Ee Wei will qualify for the semifinals by winning their final Group A tie tomorrow. (AFP pic)
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.

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