KUALA LUMPUR: Mixed pair Chen Tang Jie-Toh Ee Wei have just given the Road To Gold (RTG) selectors another strong reason why they should be considered for the elite programme aimed at winning Malaysia's first Olympic gold medal in Paris next year.
Yesterday, the world No 22 cleared their opening hurdle with an emphatic 21-14, 21-13 win over world No 10 Kim Won Ho-Jeong Na Eun of South Korea to reach the last 16 of the Badminton Asia Championships in Dubai.
This was their third win over world top-10 opponents after having previously beaten teammates Tan Kian Meng-Lai Pei Jing (then world No 6) during the Malaysia Open in January and South Koreans Seo Seung Jae-Chae Yu Jung (current world No 5) at the German Open.
The RTG committee had earlier named two independent mixed pairs — Kian Meng-Pei Jing and Goh Soon Huat-Shevon Lai Jemie — as among the medal hopefuls that will receive full support under the Youth and Sports Ministry-backed initiatives.
But there were also calls for Tang Jie-Ee Wei to be picked as well, given their tremendous progress despite being just teamed up late last year.
They have clinched three titles from the four finals since, with the most notable one the Orleans Masters in France three weeks ago.
There's a strong likelihood of them breaking into the world's top 20 if they can make it to the quarter-finals this week.
But to do that, Tang Jie-Ee Wei must first overcome their next equally tricky obstacle against former All England champions Praveen Jordan-Melati Daeva Oktavianti tomorrow.
Currently ranked world No 25, the Indonesians are gradually making their way back to the top following Praveen's career-threatening back injury by finishing runners-up at the Spain Masters.
Ee Wei was pleased that she and Tang Jie managed to carry on the momentum from Orleans three weeks ago, but she refused to get carried away following their massive first-round victory.
"We definitely need to reproduce the same form from the last tournament to excel this week, but not think about us entering this week as Orleans Masters winners," said Ee Wei.
"We have put the Orleans Masters victory behind us and focus on the present.
"As long as we keep our feet firmly on the ground, I think we will do just fine."
World No 8 Goh Soon Huat-Shevon Lai Jemie survived an early scare from Taiwan's world No 23 Ye Hong Wei-Lee Chia Hsin before prevailing 21-15, 20-22, 21-15.
Soon Huat-Shevon sensationally clawed back from 15-11 down and won the next 10 rallies to overcome a stiff challenge from the Orleans Masters runners-up.
"I think we showed a lot of character and resilience out there. Although we trailed from the start, we told ourselves that we needed to stand firm on the tactics we wanted to execute and make things work," said Shevon.
"We have our coach (Teo Kok Siang) to thank for. We're banking on the tactical game plan given by him."
Meanwhile, Kian Meng-Pei Jing could risk being omitted from the RTG programme if they don't buck up.
Dropping to No 13 in the world ranking, their woes seemed to have no end when they lost tamely 21-17, 21-13 to Swiss Open champions Jiang Zhen Bang-Wei Ya Xin of China.
They have now lost in the first-round on five occasions in seven tournaments this year. They didn't do too well either in the other two as they failed to advance beyond the last 16.
National men's singles Ng Tze Yong's Asian campaign ended in the first round following a 21-17, 21-18 loss to Hong Kong's Lee Cheuk Yiu.