KUALA LUMPUR: Chen Tang Jie-Toh Ee Wei have stepped up their bid to become Malaysia's No 2 mixed doubles pair after powering into the Singapore Open quarter-finals today.
The world No 21 defeated experienced Dutch pair Robin Tabeling-Selena Piek 21-17, 21-17 to earn their fifth quarter-final appearance on the World Tour this season.
The win saw Tang Jie-Ee Wei avenge their defeat to the world No 11 at the Swiss Open in March.
Tang Jie-Ee Wei will face Hong Kong's World No 24 Reginald Lee-Ng Tsz Yau in what appears to be a winnable match for them.
Should they progress further in the Super 750 tournament, they are projected to break into the top 20 and close in on overtaking out-of-sorts Tan Kian Meng-Lai Pei Jing as the national No 2.
Kian Meng-Pei Jing, the tournament's runners-up in 2019, were eliminated in the first round - their eighth time in 10 outings - on Wednesday and could slip further from their current position of No 17.
Tang Jie-Ee Wei's rise has been nothing but remarkable considering they have only been paired up late last year.
In just a span of seven months, they have bagged three titles, including the Orleans Masters in France in April.
Meanwhile, the hosts' challenge ended when former world champion Loh Kean Yew was stunned 21-10, 23-21 by world No 35 Christo Popov of France.
SELECTED RESULTS
Men's singles: Lee Chia Hao (Tai) bt K. Srikanth (Ind) 21-15, 21-19; Li Shi Feng (Chn) bt Weng Hong Yang (Chn) 21-9, 9-21, 21-19; Anthony Ginting (Ina) bt Brian Yang (Can) 21-19, 21-11; Christo Popov (Fra) bt Loh Kean Yew (Sin) 21-10, 23-21.
Doubles: Choi Sol Gyu-Kim Won Ho (Kor) bt Mohammad Ahsan-Hendra Setiawan 23-21, 21-17.
Mixed doubles: Chen Tang Jie-Toh Ee Wei (Mas) bt Robin Tabeling-Selena Piek (Ned) 21-17, 21-17; Feng Yan Zhe-Huang Dong Ping (Chn) bt Ye Hong Wei-Lee Chia Hsin (Tai) 21-15, 21-16; Zheng Si Wei-Huang Ya Qiong (Chn) bt Mathias Thyrri-Amalie Magelund (Den) 21-13, 21-12; Yuta Watanabe-Arisa Higashino (Jpn) bt Rinov Rivaldy-Pitha Haningtyas Mentari (Ina) 21-16, 17-21, 21-12.