Orleans: The World No. 26 Chen Tang Jie/Toh Ee Wei from Malaysia won their first BWF World Tour title on Sunday by beating World No. 25 Ye Hong Wei/Lee Chia Hsin of Taiwan 21-19, 21-17 in the 2023 Orleans Masters final on Sunday.
Highlights of Chen Tang Jie/Toh Ee Wei vs. Ye Hong Wei/Lee Chia Hsin in the 2023 Orleans Masters final:
Although this is not the only playing style suitable for mixed doubles, it’s a good sign to see that Malaysia has finally produced a mixed doubles pair that is capable of launching powerful smashes from the backcourt. Chen Tang Jie did just that in the final, when they were down 2-9 in the second game, Chen started to aim his power smashes toward Lee Chia Hsin, and that strategy worked well which allowed them to slowly clawed their way back to tie the score at 12-12.
At the end of the second game, Ye seemed to lose focus a little bit as the Malaysian pair kept targeting Lee. Chen scored the championship point when Ye wasn’t able to return the mid-court smash from Chen.
Chen/Toh started their partnership back in December 2022, since then, they have won the 2022 Bangladesh International, 2023 Iran Fajr International, and now, the Orleans Masters.
In men’s singles, India’s 21-year-old Priyanshu Rajawat also claimed his maiden BWF World Tour Super 300 title as he needed 68 minutes to beat Denmark’s Magnus Johannesen 21-15, 19-21, 21-16.
The women’s singles final saw Zhang Beiwen of the USA put up an immense fighting spirit, showcasing her signature leg split defense multiple times at the net. Nevertheless, Carolina Marin of Spain proved that she has better stamina in the decider to walk away with a 25-23, 9-21, 21-10 victory in 65 minutes.
Meanwhile, Japan’s Rena Miyaura/Ayako Sakuramoto overcame last week’s Madrid Spain Masters champions Liu Sheng Shu/Tan Ning 21-19, 16-21, 21-12 for the women’s doubles title while qualifiers from China – Chen Bo Yang/Liu Yi pulled off a huge upset to beat 2022 All England champions from Indonesia Muhammad Shohibul Fikri/Bagas Maulana 21-19, 21-17 to win their second BWF World Tour title in 2023. They also won the 2023 Ruichang China Masters (a Super 100 event) on March 19 by beating Nur Izzuddin/Muhammad Haikal of Malaysia 21-16, 19-21, and 21-16.
