Cheh Chang eager to groom Tang JieYen Wei into world beaters
KUALA LUMPUR: There’s no time to waste as mixed doubles head coach Pang Cheh Chang is eager to groom youngsters Chen Tang Jie-Peck Yen Wei into a world-beating combination by end of next year.
The 20-year-old Tang Jie and Yen Wei, 22, have made decent progress since they were paired up early this year, climbing from No. 216 to No. 34 in the world rankings.
They showed glimpses of their potential by making it to four semi-finals on the World Tour — Thailand and Spain Masters, Russia and Taiwan Opens.
Tang Jie-Yen Wei also clinched their first title by winning the lower-tier Malaysian International Challenge.
Cheh Chang said his priority is to get his top three pairs — Chan Peng Soon-Goh Liu Ying, Goh Soon Huat-Shevon Lai Jemie and Tan Kian Meng-Lai Pei Jing — to secure a maximum of two tickets for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics but he would not neglect the development of Tang Jie-Yen Wei and Hoo Pang Ron-Cheah Yee See.
“I’m very happy with the progress made by our younger pairs this year, especially Tang Jie-Yen Wei,” said Cheh Chang.
“They certainly have what it takes to become world beaters.
“They are part of our plans for the 2024 Olympics, but they need to step up from now and start beating higher-ranked opponents regularly.
“They can expect stiffer challenge from next year onwards as many top pairs will eye smaller tournaments to garner ranking points during the Olympic qualifying period (which begins May 1).
Based on their current ranking position, Tang Jie-Yen Wei are eligible to compete in the top-tier World Tour events, but Cheh Chang is not prepared to expose his charges to high-level competitions yet.
“Even if they qualify for major tournaments, I don’t see the point of sending them to lose early. It’s going to be difficult for them to cope as they have not reached that standard yet,” said Cheh Chang.
“Maybe, we’ll just send them for one or two tournaments to test them against the world’s best. Then they’ll know where they stand and what is needed to improve the gap.”