KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia's interest in the Korea Masters in Gwangju ended today as two of the country's top mixed doubles pairs fell in the semi-finals.
World No. 10 Chen Tang Jie-Toh Ee Wei lost 21-14, 21-17 to reigning world champions Seo Seung Jae-Chae Yu Jung of South Korea while independents Goh Soon Huat-Shevon Lai succumbed 21-19, 21-15 to second seeds Jiang Zhen Bang-Wei Ya Xin of China.
However, for Tang Jie-Ee Wei, the battle is far from over as they are still in the race to qualify for next month's season-ending World Tour Finals.
National mixed doubles coach Nova Widianto said Orleans Masters and Taiwan Open champions Tang Jie-Ee Wei did not play to their true ability.
"Ee Wei wasn't at her best in the front court area. There were just too many mistakes.
"As for the second game, they threw away a lot of points when they were receiving the shuttle.
"Of course it's already a good effort to reach the semi-finals, but in terms of points, not much for them to confirm their spot in the World Tour Finals yet," said Nova.
Tang Jie-Ee Wei are currently ranked No. 8 on the Race to Finals list. Only the top eight players and pairs at the end of the World Tour season will qualify for the US$2 million event in Hangzhou on Dec 13-17.
For most of the top players, the next two tournaments are the Kumamoto Masters in Japan, which begins on Tuesday, and the China Masters the week after.