Tang Jie-Yen Wei must think like top pairs if they aim to be one
KUALA LUMPUR: There’s still a long way to get to the top for Chen Tang Jie-Peck Yen Wei.
After last year’s meteoric rise, the national No. 4 mixed doubles pair have found it difficult this year playing against the world’s top opponents.
Their best outing thus far was a second round appearance in the Thailand Masters in January.
Since then they have suffered five straight first-round exits at the Malaysian Masters, German, All-England, Malaysian and Singaporean Opens.
They looked promising when they shot up from 216th in the world to a career-high 27th in October, but now they have fallen to 36th.
“They did very well last year but this year when they made the jump by playing in high-level tournaments you can see where they stand against the world’s top pairs,” said national mixed doubles coach Pang Cheh Chang.
“This is the time for them to look at themselves, at their game. Where can they go from here?
“And when they return from tournaments they must know what their weaknesses are and improve on it during training.
“I hope they can see that the top pairs are consistent in their game. They don’t make many mistakes, so when they (Tang Jie-Yen Wei) see this they know they will have to step up.”
Cheh Chang said that the most important thing for them is to stay focused during training.
“They now have the opportunity to learn what it takes to get to the next level. If they just keep on training they will think they are good enough, but now that they have played against the best they see the difference.
“So what’s important now is that they come back with a different mindset ... that they need to put in the extra effort to get among the top pairs.
“They are a young pair, give them time as they are still learning. They have the potential as shown by their good show last year.”