Tang Jie–Ee Wei's flick service not lethal enough

KUALA LUMPUR: Mixed doubles pair Chen Tang Jie–Toh Ee Wei want to put the disappointment of their last-four exit at the World Tour Finals (WTF) in Hangzhou, China, today behind them and set sights on the Asian Games in Aichi–Nagoya next year.

The Malaysian world No. 4 pair could not rediscover the form that saw them beat China's world No. 2 Zhen Bang-Ya Xin for the World Championships title in Paris in August.

It was Zhen Bang-Ya Xin who secured a 9-21, 21-11, 21-17 win in 58 minutes this time at the WTF.

Earlier in the day, Malaysia's world No. 2 Pearly Tan–M. Thinaah had lost 21-19, 21-13 to Japan's world No. 5 Mayu Matsumoto–Yuki Fukushima.

However, Tang Jie was ready to put the setback behind him and aim for Asian Games honours in Japan.

"Every player wants to achieve big at the Asian Games because the major event is held once in four years and that will be our biggest target. We will see," said Tang Jie.

The flick service has been a weapon for Tang Jie in recent tournaments, but he conceded that the Chinese pair were prepared for it at the WTF.

"We did use the flick service but they were prepared to receive those services. All the top pairs know the strengths and weaknesses of their rivals," added Tang Jie.

"So, we had to stick to our own game plan and also tried new strategies against them, but we had to accept defeat today."

Ee Wei said that Zhen Bang-Ya Xin were the steadier pair during the crucial stages, which made the difference in the last four.

The chance to become instant millionaires slipped away as the champions' purse was worth US$252,000 (RM1.03 million). Zhen Bang-Ya Xin will meet world No. 1 Feng Yan Zhe-Huang Dong Ping in an all-China final on Sunday.

Tang Jie-Ee Wei and Pearly-Thinaah will still return with US$60,000 (RM245,000) per pair after reaching the WTF semi-finals.