KUALA LUMPUR: Mixed doubles Chen Tang Jie-Toh Ee Wei should not get too comfortable with whatever they've achieved so far.
Even after swiftly breaking into the top 10, mixed doubles coach Nova Widianto admitted that his charges are still far from reaching the pinnacle of their potential.
On Tuesday, the Indonesian two-time former world champion (with Liliyana Natsir) said Tang Jie-Ee Wei need to grind more to improve their technique and on-court psyche to match some of the world's best.
Tang Jie-Ee Wei, who were only paired up in December last year, will be making their debut at the season-ending World Tour Finals in Hangzhou on Dec 13-17.Nova said world No. 9 Tang Jie-Ee Wei need to make full use of the next two weeks if they want to do well next month.
"Their form has not been great in the past few tournaments because they haven't really had any time to focus on quality training due to the hectic tournament schedule. "Breaking into the world top 10 is only a small step. It gets harder to move up and match the level of the world's top pairs.
"There is still a lot of work that needs to be put in to reach the highest level, including technique and on-court psyche," said Nova at the Academy Badminton Malaysia in Bukit Kiara today.As for the World Tour Finals, Nova is not expecting too much from the Orleans Masters and Taiwan Open champions.
"We need to be realistic. Tang Jie-Ee Wei are making their debut, while their opponents are among the best in the world. "Only the top-four pairs on the Race to Finals will be seeded, which means Tang Jie-Ee Wei will have to face two strong pairs in the group stage.
"I want to see them work hard in the next two weeks and give their best in the World Tour Finals. "It will be nice to try and clear the group stage first. Unlike Open tournaments, the World Tour Finals have no easy first or second round matches.
"Nonetheless, I am grateful to see Tang Jie-Ee Wei qualify because the World Tour Finals offer very high world ranking points, which also contributes towards the Olympic qualifying campaign. "The ultimate target is to make the cut for the Olympics. Right now, we are only on track, nothing more nothing less," added Nova.
The US$2 million (RM9.3 million) World Tour Finals only features the top eight players and pairs from the 2023 World Tour.