SEA Games: Tang Jie-Yen Wei win Malaysia's first mixed doubles gold in 23 years
Nicolas Anil
May 22, 2022 07:57 MYT
May 22, 2022 07:57 MYT
Chen Tang Jie-Peck Yen Wei picked up their biggest career title with a mixed doubles gold medal after coming a game down to beat national team-mates Hoo Pang Ron-Cheah Yee See 15-21, 21-19, 21-13 at the 2021 SEA Games.
Their 68-minute victory on Sunday also meant Malaysia take home a first SEA Games mixed doubles gold medal since 1999 through Chew Choong Eng-Chor Hooi Yee.
Both pairs had only met once on the international stage in 2019, but were familiar with each other’s strengths and weaknesses having trained together on a daily basis.
It was Hoo-Cheah who got off to a convincing start by leading the entire first game.
Chen-Peck threatened to mount a comeback towards the end, but their opponents kept a safe distance to take the lead at 21-15.
The second game was as close as it got, with both pairs locked at 19-19.
Chen-Peck kept their nerves to convert two chances at the end to level matters and take it to a deciding game.
It was in the third game where the world number 29 pair turned on the heat, especially through Chen who found multiple winners with his thunderous smashes as Hoo-Cheah were left to defend for most of the match.
The victory was sealed rather comfortably at 21-13, as the pair celebrated a huge win for their careers.
Caption this! ? pic.twitter.com/ZcYtiMnHNn — Syakirah Zulkifly (@SykrhZlkfly) May 22, 2022
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It was smiles all round with both pairs embracing at the end, as Hoo-Cheah congratulated their team-mates with genuine smiles, perhaps also content with their silver medal in the bag.
The win capped a splendid outing for Chen-Peck, who did well to beat Terry Hee-Tan Wei Han and top seeds Rinov Rivaldy-Pitha Haningtyas Mentari en route to the final.
Malaysia’s one-two finish in the mixed doubles were the only medals in the individual event, which fell short of the three gold medals the national contingent achieved in 2019.
Penantian 23 tahun beregu campuran negara untuk raih pingat emas di pentas Sukan Sea menjadi milik Chen Tang Jie - Peck Yen Wei. Manakala pingat perak pula buat Hoo Pang Ron - Cheah Yee See ???? #SEAGames2021 pic.twitter.com/Y4GRkY3xoR— Syakirah Zulkifly (@SykrhZlkfly) May 22, 2022
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