Paris: The Malaysian mixed doubles pair of Chen Tang Jie and Toh Ee Wei secured their spot in the quarterfinals of the 2024 Paris Olympic Games alongside their fellow Malaysian team: men’s double pair Aaron Chia and Soh Wooi Yik
Malaysia managed to win all of their badminton matches across all events on day 2 of the Paris games.
Cheng Tang Jie and Toh Ee Wei managed to break to the quarterfinals following their second victory in Group D, defeating the American Pair of Vinson Chiu and Jennie Gai by scores of 21-15, 24-22.
Following this victory and a successful first win yesterday over Singapore’s Terry Hee and Jessica Tan, they now are guaranteed to be in the top two of their group, regardless of the result of their next match. Their next match will be facing China’s Feng Yan Zhe and Huang Dong Ping, who also secured their second win against Hee and tan.
Meanwhile, in men’s doubles, Malaysian Pair Aaron Chia and Soh Wooi Yik also secured a spot in the quarterfinals, guaranteeing a top-two finish in Group A following their defeat of Nyl Yakura/Adam Dong of Canada 21-10, 21-15. They will now face Liang Wei Keng and Wang Chang to determine the group winners on Monday.
On the men’s singles side of things, Malaysia’s Lee Zii Jia (World No. 7) comfortably defeated Sri Lanka’s Viren Nettasighe 21-24, 21-12 in group G, netting his first win of the Olympics.
“I am happy to win my first match at the Paris Olympics. It’s a good start, and I hope my game improves from here,” said Lee.
“I know everyone wants to be on the podium at the Olympics, so right now, I’m just trying to stay calm and not put pressure on myself,” he added.
And last but certainly not least, the women’s double competition saw Malaysia’s Pearly Tan and Thinaah Muralitharan (World No. 13) rebounding from a tough loss yesterday against China’s Qing Chen and Jia Yi Fan (World No.1) and beating Japan’s Mayu Matsumoto and Wakana (World No. 6) Nagahara, with scores 18-21, 21-15, 21-16 in Group A. With this win, the pair now has a better chance of advancing to the quarterfinals following their loss The women’s doubles competition saw Malaysian World No. 13 women’s doubles pair Pearly Tan and Thinaah Muralitharan rebounded from yesterday’s loss to secure a win over Japan’s World No. 6 Mayu Matsumoto and Wakana Nagahara with scores of 18-21, 21-15, 21-16 in Group A. They must now win their final group match against Indonesia’s Apriyani Rahayu and Siti Fadia Silva Ramadhanti to have a chance at advancing to the top eight.
