KUALA LUMPUR: Mixed doubles Chen Tang Jie-Toh Ee Wei will have to wait longer to know if they will qualify for this year's World Tour Finals in Hangzhou, China.
This is because the world No 9 pair failed to clear the first round of the Super 750 China Masters on Tuesday, losing 21-18, 21-18 to Indonesia's Rinov Rivaldy-Pitha Haningtyas Mentari.
As it stands, Tang Jie-Ee Wei are No. 8 — the final qualifying spot — in the Race to Finals standings.
Tang Jie-Ee Wei face competition from three pairs ranked below them — Ye Hong Wei-Lee Chia Hsin (Taiwan), Tang Chun Man-Tse Ying Suet (Hong Kong) and Mathias Christiansen-Alexandra Boje (Denmark), who can qualify by winning their opening round matches in Shenzhen on Wednesday.
Christiansen-Alexandra will face world No. 1 Zheng Si Wei-Huang Ya Qiong of China, Hong Wei-Chia Hsin take on second seeds Yuta Watanabe-Arisa Higashino of Japan, and Chun Man-Ying Suet will play Malaysia's Goh Soon Huat-Shevon Lai.
Disappointed with the outcome, national mixed doubles coach Nova Widianto said his charges have no choice but to hope for the best.
"Tang Jie-Ee Wei's performance has dropped a little since the Asian Games. Their mental game has also taken a dip.
"They could have avoided being in this situation, but now there is no choice but to wait and hope these three pairs don't make it.
"We have to continue working hard.
Meanwhile, former world champions Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik made easy work of independents Ong Yew Sin-Teo Ee Yi 21-15, 21-15 to check into the men's doubles second round.
After a poor outing in Japan last week, Aaron-Wooi Yik, will be looking to make amends when they face China's Tan Qiang-Zhou Hao Dong or He Ji Ting-Ren Xiang Yu on Thursday.
Man Wei Chong-Tee Kai Wun also reached the first round after ousting South Korea's Jin Yong-Na Sung Seung 21-11, 15-21, 21-17.
The Malaysians will face China's Liu Yu Chen-Ou Xuan Yi or Indonesia's Muhammad Shohibul Fikri-Bagas Maulana in the second round.
Another national duo Goh Sze Fei-Nur Izzuddin Rumsani fought gallantly before losing 21-23, 24-22, 21-19 to Japan's Akira Koga-Taichi Saito.