KUALA LUMPUR: National mixed pair Chen Tang Jie-Toh Ee Wei kept their hopes alive of advancing from the group stage at the World Tour Finals in Hangzhou following a stunning win over the world No. 2 Yuta Watanabe-Arisa Higashino yesterday.
Tang Jie-Ee Wei succeeded on their third attempt, recovering from a game down to win 12-21, 21-16, 21-16 against the formidable Japanese duo, whom they hadn't managed to steal a game from in their previous two encounters.
The victory moved Tang Jie-Ee Wei to second in Group A ahead of their final fixture against two-time winners Dechapol Puavaranukroh-Sapsiree Taerattanachai of Thailand.
In addition to needing a win, they will require Watanabe-Higashino to lose to China's Feng Yan Zhe-Huang Dong Ping.
Yan Zhe-Dong Ping are all but assured of their spot in the knockout stage after securing their second win by beating Dechapol-Sapsiree 12-21, 21-12, 21-18 in the other clash of the day.
Even if victory goes in favor of Watanabe-Higashino, Yan Zhe-Dong Ping will still advance over Tang Jie-Ee Wei as they hold the edge in the head-to-head record, having beaten them in Wednesday's opener.
Regardless of the outcome, Tang Jie-Ee Wei deserve praise for their strong response to their tame defeat to Yan Zhe-Dong Ping.
Ee Wei said: "After yesterday's defeat, I was mentally down. Having to face Yuta-Arisa, whom we had never beaten before, we entered the court as if we had already lost.
"Maybe that mindset helped us to win because we never had to think too much about the outcome. Really happy to win this match. We knew the expectations were high, and we battled through this pressure."
Tang Jie believes there is every reason for them to walk tall after yesterday's triumph.
"I think we did a really good job because Yuta-Arisa are never easy to play against," said Tang Jie.
"If you lose focus or are too scared to bring the game to them, they will take away many points from you. So, to walk away victorious, we're very proud of ourselves. It's a great breakthrough for us and will boost our confidence a whole world of good."