'Baby Hulk' brings raw power to Pei Jing's mixed doubles gamble

KUALA LUMPUR: Jimmy Wong switched to mixed doubles just 10 months ago at the insistence of veteran partner Lai Pei Jing, and the independent pair are already targeting a top-15 world ranking.

Pei Jing, 34, had to restart her career after long-time partner Tan Kian Meng retired following last year's All England.

She took a gamble on the 24-year-old Jimmy, who was raw in mixed doubles but brought brute power to the partnership.

Their combination of youthful strength and Pei Jing's experience helped them finish runners-up in seven smaller BWF tournaments last year.

They made their Super 1000 debut at the Malaysia Open last week, losing in the first round, before reaching the last 16 of the Super 750 India Open in New Delhi.

Jimmy-Pei Jing pushed China's world No. 1 Feng Yan Zhe-Huang Dong Ping to the limit before falling 18-21, 21-17, 21-10 on Thursday, a performance that has fuelled their ambition to reach the top 15 quickly.

"Just want to continue doing our best and get to the top 15 as fast as possible," said Jimmy, nicknamed "Baby Hulk" by friends.

"Overall, we played well today, but at crucial points we lacked focus and clarity. They are on top of the world and forced us into errors."

Pei Jing said the pair are happy with how they have clicked on court despite their differences in experience.

"Jimmy is still new to mixed doubles and although I'm a bit senior, our biggest challenge is communication. We are working hard on it," she said.

The former world No. 5 with Kian Meng added that she was proud of their spirited performance against the Chinese pair.

"We are satisfied with our match even though we lost. We learned a lot and it's very positive energy for us. We will do our best in every match and hope to stand on the podium again this year," said Pei Jing

.Jimmy-Pei Jing will now head to the Indonesia Masters Super 500 from Jan 20-25, where they face Indonesia's world No. 48 Dejan Ferdinansyah-Bernadine Wardana in the first round in Jakarta.