PARIS, July 27 — National mixed doubles pair Chen Tang Jie-Toh Ee Wei kickstarted the country’s Paris 2024 Olympics pursuit 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 the first point in the Group D match at Porte de La Chapelle Arena.
Chen-Toh 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 (July 29).
Earlier, world number two Feng-Huang defeated the Americans 21-11, 21-14.
Only the top two pairs in the group stage advance to the quarter-finals.
Speaking to Bernama after the match, Chen-Toh, making their Olympics debut, said they were shocked to see a full arena with about 8,000 spectators on the first day itself, as it is usually less crowded during other tournaments, including this year’s French Open, held at the same arena.
“I was shocked to see a full crowd (in attendance), but it brought excitement and positive spirits to the 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, which gave our opponents space to close down the gap.
“Lastly, we both trusted each other and really spoke 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,” Chen said.
Meanwhile, Toh said they will discuss on the match approach against the American players later, as they do not want to put too much pressure on their minds.
— Bernama
