Chen Tang Jie is about to live one of his biggest dreams of gracing the Olympics in Paris next month, after making a promise to himself to feature at the world’s biggest stage when he watched the 2008 Games.
Chen qualified to Paris along with partner Toh Ee Wei as the country’s highest ranked mixed doubles pair.
It has been a wild ride for the world number nine outfit who were only paired together in late 2022 following a coaching reshuffle.
Since then, the colourful hair duo have gone on to win the Bangladesh and Iran International titles, before securing the Orleans Masters and Taipei Open crowns on the World Tour last year.
For the 26-year-old Chen, winning these titles to move swiftly up the world rankings to reach the Olympics stage has been a childhood dream since he was 10.
“The first time I watched the Olympics was back in 2008. I have a vivid memory of that, and made a promise to myself to work hard and make it to the Olympics.
“The Olympics is different, I really wanted to go there and experience the event. It is an event not every athlete can participate in. My family have never imposed any expectations on me, but I’m sure they are happy and proud of me.
“Right now, the most crucial thing is that we stay injury free. After training, we go for a massage to recover and rest as much as possible. We also stick to a healthy diet so our bodies can recover faster,” Chen told Badminton Weekly.
This year, Chen-Toh have played in 11 events and posted their best result at the Thailand Masters & Swiss Open where they finished second.
They also recently reached the Malaysia Masters semi-finals last month.
The pair will know their Olympic opponents when the draw is made on July 12.
