KUALA LUMPUR: Chen Tang Jie-Toh Ee Wei's commanding win over their Chinese rivals at the Indonesia Masters on Saturday rekindled memories of their historic breakthrough at last year's World Championships in Paris.
The world No. 4 Malaysians produced another clinical display to defeat China's world No. 2 Jiang Zhen Bang-Wei Ya Xin 21-17, 21-12 in just 33 minutes, booking their place in the final at the Istora Senayan.
The victory echoed their Paris triumph, where Tang Jie-Ee Wei bounced back from a difficult spell to stun the same pair and claim Malaysia's first mixed doubles world title.
After a slow start to the season, Tang Jie-Ee Wei once again rose to the occasion, asserting control early and never allowing Zhen Bang-Ya Xin to settle into the match.
The win marked a timely rebound for the Malaysians, who had suffered back-to-back defeats to their bitter rivals at the Denmark Open and the World Tour Finals.
It also earned them a chance to fight for their sixth career title on Sunday.
National coach Nova Widianto believes his charges can go all the way if they maintain their confidence against Denmark's Mathias Christiansen-Alexandra Boje in the final.
"There is a chance to win as long as they stay confident. I am optimistic," said Nova.
"Their performance today was already better than yesterday. There is still one more step to go and I hope they can be more consistent in the final tomorrow."
World No. 1 0 Christiansen-Boje reached the final after overcoming ninth-ranked Indonesian favourites Jafar Hidayatullah-Felisha Pasaribu 20-22, 21-19, 21-17 in the semi-finals.
Aside from a few close exchanges early on, Tang Jie-Ee Wei were in complete control, dictating the pace and keeping Zhen Bang-Ya Xin at arm's length throughout the match.
Saturday's win narrowed their head-to-head deficit against the Chinese pair to 5-3 and boosted their confidence following a shock first-round exit at the India Open last week.
Tang Jie-Ee Wei hold a 2-1 head-to-head advantage over Christiansen-Boje but will not take the final lightly after losing their most recent meeting to the Danes at the Macau Open in September last year.
